The Vigil: Part One of the Further Adventures of Ahsoka Tano
by Nanometer
Summary: A lone adventurer stumbles onto a mystery, the answer to which could determine the fate of the entire galaxy. Set after the conclusion of Episode 3, this story stays as true to canon as possible while exploring the further adventures of Ahsoka Tano.
1. Chapter 1

Dual suns tore through the pitifully thin atmosphere of Hok leaving waves of dancing heat wherever they landed. As far as the eye could see a flat sea of desert sand stretched, baking away in eternal blistering silence. Two tiny dust devils lazily circled each other until a slight shift of the wind suddenly seemed to change their minds and they drifted off in separate directions.

The only shade to be found in this vast expanse, perhaps on the whole planet, was underneath what might have been the rustiest amalgamation of spare parts to travel through interstellar space. The ship was an ancient looking YG-series light freighter, or at least had been when she first rolled off the line roughly two hundred years ago. Along the way she had managed to pick up numerous modifications including advanced battle armor plating from a pirate marauder, the sensor array from an imperial scout ship, scavenged power coils, and an extra communications relay from a crashed pleasure cruiser. Both the power coils and communications relay still functioned perfectly but were very badly scorched from what must have been a rather unpleasant encounter with a planetary atmosphere and then, the planet itself.

The ship's port docking hatch contained a rarely working single gun battery from a Ghtroc 440 that had been haphazardly welded in place. Though not at all pretty and debatably useful, the gun battery was a marked improvement over the starboard docking hatch. There the pressure seals were so worn that even when a successful connection was made with another ship the escaping air screeched and whistled with more ferocity, and much less tonality, than a swarm of mating Turkak flies.

Of her three main thruster engines, only two would spool up with any regularity, and only one was reliable enough to get you out of a tight spot. But for the adventurer on a budget, one was all you needed, if not all you could afford to keep running. Her hyperdrive was her one shining attribute, and the thing that kept her flying and not in some junk heap in the outer rim. Clocking in as class 0.5, it was extremely fast, much faster than the original class 4 hyperdrive that had slogged her through the void in the past.

Salvaged at great personal risk from the wreckage of a highly experimental Imperial cruiser, it was vastly over-qualified for the job of moving the comparably small YG across the emptiness of the galaxy. Just getting the manifolds to power up without frying the whole power grid had taken over a month of frustration, multiple near electrocutions, and innumerable careful adjustments. Even now, with every jump the threat of overload reared its ugly head. Designed to move a much larger vessel, the potential for more speed output from the drive existed, but really only if you were willing to arrive in significantly more pieces than those you began the jump with.

Emblazoned on her upper hull, just above the bridge, in deep crimson paint that ran almost the width of the ship was the name 'Remnant'. Although worn through years of exposure to the elements of half the galaxy, the letters were still stark in contrast to the dull grey of the armor plating and clearly visible.

In the distance, as if coalescing from the very heat of the horizon itself, a land speeder appeared. Moving fast and with a purpose it cut a perfectly straight line for the Remnant. A column of dust rose like an angry storm cloud where the speeder passed, hanging in the air momentarily before being shredded horizontally by the gusting cross winds.

With a hiss of steam and a huge groan that causing the landing struts of the Remnant shake the cargo bay floor creaked downward to form a ramp that served as the ship's main entrance. Slowly down the still descending ramp came the Remnant's lone pilot, covered head to toe in a billowing grey hooded cloak. A ragged gust of wind clutched at the cloak's hem, flinging it sideways with unexpected strength, revealing a thin and lanky figure clad beneath in brown leather. Under the hood, two sharp eyes stared intently at the rapidly approaching speeder.

No longer just a dot on the horizon, the speeder could now be seen clearly as it churned the desert sand into a frenzy. Turning only at the last second and braking wildly, the carriage came to a shuddering halt a few paces away from the ship. The trailing dust clouds filled the air, further hazing the already dingy sky. The Remnant's pilot stepped slowly away from the ramp and walked forward to stand at the edge of the shade as the deafening whine of the engines slowly faded away.

The speeder's driver hopped lightly to the ground waving the dust away with a gloved hand, his other hand resting on the butt of a holstered blaster.

"You alone?" he grumbled looking warily around, his voice like the sound of rocks being crushed together.

"Are you Phrix?" The pilot replied calmly.

"A female!" derided the speeder's rearmost occupant as he climbed ponderously down from his perch. A small chuckle shook his fat rolls as he stared at the hooded figure. "Come now little lady, why hide beneath all those clothes on a beautiful day like today?" he waved a flabby arm vaguely at the horizon.

Standing at least seven feet tall, and hugely fat, he was a mountain of a man. Atop his head he wore a shapeless bag that could scarcely be called a hat. No shirt covered his chest, which was crisscrossed with a dazzling myriad of decorative scars. Loose pants and a pair of worn boots completed his ensemble. The pilot's eye caught the shape of a concealed blaster pistol on the left side of the giant's waistline.

"Where's your boss, little one?" The giant man said, a finger digging mindlessly in his bellybutton. "He's the one who should be here tending to such important matters, not an errand girl."

"I am the boss." She said slowly and carefully, watching sidelong as the driver and another man spread out around her. '_I knew this was a trap_.' she thought to herself. '_Why is it that nothing can be simple_?' Her back muscles began to tense up, but she took a deep breath and eased them again as she exhaled.

Ever since she'd begun this journey five months ago, it had seemed like everything that could go wrong had gone wrong. The Remnant had been purring along for well over a year without any major issues. Yet not a week out and she had blown an injector nozzle, lost the ventral exhaust cover flap, bent the long distance transmitting antennae, and finally burned out the life support control computer. That last one had been touch and go for a while.

Without the computer to regulate the life support she had been relegated to manually connecting the cycle wires to control air flow and temperature inside the ship. The only problem was that these wires were located very inconveniently under the deck plating between the main engine compartment and the fuel storage pods. By the time she had limped into the nearest space port on Ploo IV she had nearly suffocated, frozen, died of heat stroke, and just about everything between at least a dozen times.

"Where's the money?" the driver growled at her. By now he was almost at the foot of the Remnant's ramp, peeking up into the shadowed darkness.

"Here." She said, producing a small container from beneath the folds of her cloak seemingly from thin air. The greed in the eyes of the giant was clearly visible as he unconsciously rubbed both hands on his stomach.

"Check it Gorth." The big man pointed a meaty finger at the container. The speeder's third and final occupant, a shifty man with overly long fingers and sharp cheekbones, glanced hesitantly at the pilot. Shuffling his feet he warily approached with hand outstretched.

"Where is the information?" she said, pulling the container back at the last second from the shifty man's grasp.

"Money first, then information." The giant sing-songed and gestured quickly again to the shifty man.

After a pause she placed the container in the man's upturned palm. He snatched it backward in a manic motion, fumbling with the latch for a moment before flicking the lid open. The glint of gold sparkled off of three neat rows of coins. With a surprising amount of speed for his size the big man bowled over the shifty man, grasping the container as he did so. His eyes glittered, an almost perfect reflection of the coins, unaware and uncaring that the smaller man was now picking himself up from the ground, a thick layer of desert sand and dust covering his ragged clothing.

After a long moment had passed, the big man finally looked up from the gold. Not at the pilot though, but at the Remnant. A sneer trickled across his face.

"That pile of junk is practically worthless." He inclined his head slightly. "That actually flew here?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"My information please." She said, a trace of impatience creeping into her voice.

Snapping closed the container with one hand while smoothly sliding the hidden blaster from his waistline the big man said flatly, "I think not." It was a strangely fluid movement. After an ominous pause he continued, "Let's have a look at you. Hopefully you'll fetch a better price than your pile of spare parts." He motioned slightly toward the ship with his weapon.

She felt the barrel of a blaster press against the back of her head. The speeder's driver had completed his circling maneuver and was now standing directly behind her.

"Arms up, love." He growled. "Nice and slowly. Don't wanna have to crack you o'er the head." The driver leaned forward and took in a deep breath at the hooded pilot's neck. "Unless you like that kind o' thing." He guffawed. "We'll have plenty o' time to find that out soon enough won't we!"

He reached up with his free hand and yanked the hood down, swinging around in front of her to pull off her cloth mask, the blaster barrel never leaving her head. The big man broke into a gap-toothed grin as he saw her face.

Ahsoka Tano squinted in the sudden sunlight. She stood, unmoving while her eyes adjusted. "I'll ask you one last time, give me the information we agreed on." She said, staring past the blaster barrel when she could see again, squarely into the fat man's eyes.

He hesitated for a moment, unsure why his quarry was not whimpering and begging for freedom as had happened countless times in the past. "You've got guts, girl. I'll give you that." He said, the moment passing, his smug superiority returning.

"Gorth! Get up there and see if there is anything of value in that trash heap!" He never took his eyes off of his new prize.

Ahsoka shifted her weight to her back foot, slowly bringing her hands just out from her sides.

"Don't even think about it, love." The driver croaked, his finger half pulling his blaster's trigger. "It'd be a real shame to mar that purdy face o' yours." He reached out a gloved hand to roughly grab her jaw.

Turning her face slightly to the right, he paused for a moment. "I don't know, Phrix. I might wanna keep this un' for myself. Or at least check to make sure the goods is worthwhile." There was no mirth in the smile he showed her.

He released her jaw, but slowly slid his hand down her neck to the clasp that held her cloak in place. With a sharp tug, the strap gave way. For the first time his eyes dropped from her face to leer at the newly revealed flesh. He reached out his gloved hand to further investigate, but a strange thing happened. He vaguely heard a snap and the thrum of electricity, but what held his attention more was his hand, or more accurately the lack of it. It was simply not where it was supposed to be, where it had always been, there at the end of his arm. Instead, it now lay in the sand at his feet, palm up, an utterly and entirely foreign object. His world collapsed violently into a dark tunnel where all he could see was his disembodied hand in the sand. From far off he heard frantic screaming, and the sound rapid of blaster fire.

It wasn't until what seemed an eternity later, when a stray shot clipped him in the leg that he finally snapped out of his stupor. Grinding his teeth in pain, strangely from his leg and not his arm where he felt nothing, he looked up. Around him was utter chaos. Gorth lay unconscious, face down in the sand, a trail of blood seeping from one ear. Phrix was in full retreat, trying unsuccessfully to hide behind the speeder while blindly firing his blaster.

Coming to his senses, the driver leveled the blaster in his remaining hand, aiming directly for the back of the bitch that had just stolen his hand. It was only then, after he had impotently pulled the trigger a dozen times, that he noticed that half of his blaster was missing, sheered completely off. A slow realization dawned on him. _They_ were supposed to be gone, an extinct breed wiped out by the 'New Galactic Empire' and its supreme leader.

With a scream of both pain and anger, the driver ripped a hidden dagger from his belt and made a mad dash toward the Jedi who now had Phrix quivering in a heap, sitting in the sand with his back against the speeder. He launched himself headlong at her intending to bury the dagger over and over into her neck and shoulders, exacting revenge for the loss of his hand. But just as he thrust the dagger forward for the kill she was gone, somersaulting effortlessly into the air. Suddenly off balance, he stumbled, fighting to stay on his feet.

Ahsoka twisted neatly in the air, planting both feet squarely in the drivers back, propelling him helplessly head first into the speeder. The clang his head made as it left a dent in the door was surprisingly satisfying. The driver slumped into unconsciousness, his head now lolling in Phrix's lap. She alit softly on the desert sand, arms outstretched, a softly humming green lightsaber in her right hand, an angry buzzing red one in her left. Both snapped closed, leaving a notable silence in their absence. She stood upright and visibly eased her shoulders once again. Carefully and purposefully she hung the now quiet lightsabers on her belt, one on each hip. With an easy gate, she strode over to Phrix, who not surprisingly no longer oozed smugness or strength of any kind.

"We were just having a bit of fun, no harm meant." He stuttered, all pretense of superiority gone. Tears were forming in the corners of his eyes. "Mort wasn't going to do nothing to you. He was just playin'." Through his blubbering he laid a sausage hand on Mort's unconscious head.

"Enough!" Ahsoka said. "Just give me what we agreed on and I _might_ just honor our arrangement."

With lightning speed the sobbing abruptly halted and the greed crept back into Phrix's eyes. He reached a shaking hand into his pocket and produced a data chip. "It's all here." He said, his eyes straying to the container with the gold coins now sitting askew in the sand a few paces away. Without taking her eyes off of Phrix, Ahsoka slowly reached out her right arm toward the container. It flew sharply to her outstretched hand. Absently she looked down at it, as if noticing it for the first time. Suddenly the data chip in Phrix's hand snapped over Ahsoka's left hand. A smirk appeared briefly on her face before seriousness abruptly replaced it. She looked up at him, cold steel in her sharp blue eyes.

"I think not." She said, the smirk reappearing.

With a swirl of her cloak, she spun around and strode with ease to the ramp of the Remnant. At the base, she paused for a moment and flicked the case open with one hand. Placing the data chip into a pocket she clasped one row of the gleaming gold coins.

"For services rendered." She said tersely. "Minus the cost for cleaning up."

A shower of coins rained down into the sand as the ramp creaked and groaned its way back upwards.

The Remnant rose stoically above the endless desert, its thrusters churning up the sand below in a blaze of fire and smoke. As it disappeared into the beige sky a lone, plump figure could be seen far below searching for golden coins in the equally golden sand.


	2. Chapter 2

Ahsoka dropped heavily into the rightmost of the Remnant's two swiveling pilot seats. Although they were identical in every way she preferred this one to the other. She really couldn't say why. The leather of both were equally cracked and worn. They both creaked violently when jumping into hyperspace. This one simply '_felt_' better. With a sigh she spun the chair to her left, clunking her heavy boots roughly up onto the center console. Leaning back she reached into her pocket and gently clasped the data chip between two fingers, pulling it out. Curiosity burned in her, but she knew better than to cave to her impulse. Besides losing the money she was to be paid for delivering the data, getting the reputation for snooping on an employer was financial if not actual suicide. That of course depended on the employer.

She set the chip on the console, repressing her curiosity for a final time. It _was_ understandable after all. Months of scouring half the seediest dives of the inner rim and core systems before finally getting a solid lead, all culminating in another predictable encounter with the scum who trade in information and all things illegal. It had been particularly tempting this time to do more than simply retrieve the chip. Those three she had left down on Hok were particularly vile versions of the multitude she'd crossed paths with recently. It had taken all of her willpower and then some to not mince the one who had touched her into tiny pieces. That he had only lost a hand he should have been extremely thankful for.

Things had been so strange since the Clone Wars had ended, almost as if her life before was just a dream. She'd been off the grid when the galaxy had changed, exploring ruins on Ord Mirit. When she had finally made her way back to relative civilization she had been shocked by the rumors being shared at the local cantina. The Jedi were no more, exterminated for crimes against the new galactic empire. Incredulously and after a significant amount of vacillating between 'should I, shouldn't I', she had finally caved and reached out to the Jedi temple.

That had been a truly difficult moment for her. Walking away from everything she had ever known had not been an easy decision, but it had been the right one. In retrospect she was sure of that at least. But when she had sent the holo-request anyway and instead of the normal bureaucratic response there had been silence, she had immediately known something was not right. The connection was open, but no one was visibly on the other end.

That had shaken her to her core. Even though she had been gone for well over a year at that point, knowing that the Jedi order and all of its combined knowledge and the stability that it represented was there had been a security blanket. No longer. She had been truly lost for a time, wandering aimlessly and dazed about the rural outpost of Krav'k on Ord Mirit. She had eventually decided to meditate on a rocky outcrop high above the quiet little town, a vain attempt to ease the violent places her mind tended to stray toward.

Barely half a day had passed before _they_ had arrived, three drop ships full of clone soldiers. Meticulously they had spread across the tiny village, subduing any semblance of resistance in an instant. She had been a heartbeat away from dropping triumphantly into their midst when one of the clones had suddenly grabbed a less than cooperative villager and, without provocation, executed the woman, a child still in her arms.

That had made no sense whatsoever. She had fought beside these same men hundreds of times and never had she seen such disregard for sentient life. In that instant she knew things were different, that the rumors were indeed true. These clones were here for her, to kill her or return her to Coruscant in restraints. Either way, she immediately knew the last thing that was going to happen was that she was going to go with them, willingly or otherwise.

That was five long years ago now and any innocence she still possessed had vanished at the same time. To her credit, the clones never did find out who had sent the message to the Jedi temple. At the time a sudden rage had come upon her and she had pondered exterminating every one of the clones sent to find her. But after some thought she'd realized that any violence she caused would simply attract more attention and further reinforcements from the newly established galactic empire, and more pain and suffering for the locals. She had silently slipped away, involuntarily joining an underworld full of less than reputable characters.

It turned out she was much more suited to this new life than even she might have anticipated. Before the year was out, she had managed to procure her very own ship, dilapidated as it was, and successfully began a life of freelance services for hire. At first she had simply run freight as the opportunity arose, but with luck and perseverance she had developed a reputation as someone who could find and retrieve what you needed no matter how obscure or dangerous it might be. She had discovered early on that she much preferred the excitement of the hunt to the monotony that was running freight. But freight kept the fuel tanks full and food on her table. Despite the sense of freedom that came from roaming the galaxy alone, she still felt irked to have to resort shipping to survive.

Alone was a relative term now though. Since the failure of the life support computer she had finally given in and purchased an R-model astromech droid to calculate hyper jumps, and in a pinch, control the life support systems should they decide to stop working again. R4-N4 was serviceable if not particularly good company and on more than one occasion had proven to be extremely useful at making difficult repairs while in space. Many people claimed that all R-series droids were the same, but she knew better. Her former Jedi master had kept a particularly assertive R model designated R2-D2, for which she had developed a significant fondness. But R4, as she referred to her new astromech droid, had little personality and was utterly useless in a firefight unless you needed to use him as cover.

A chirp from R4 letting her know they had cleared the planet's atmosphere brought her back to the present.

"Put us in orbit for now." She said, her eye once again falling on the data chip. Her boots clanked slightly on the deck plating as she lowered them off of the console and turned to the communications panel. She flicked a switch and entered the now familiar sequence of numbers for her current employer. In a moment the holographic emitters sparked to life and she was greeted by the visage of Daggo Tho.

Daggo had made her uncomfortable from the first moment she'd met him, but he had promised her lucrative work and on that account he'd never failed to produce. This was her sixth contract working with him, and by far the most difficult to date. When he had first contacted her about this job he'd said he needed her for a simple retrieval job. Someone had stolen a data chip from his client and he needed it returned quietly and quickly.

She had almost been a little disappointed, hoping for something a little more stimulating. The previous job he'd sent her on was to rescue the kidnapped daughter of a rich spice trader. She had really stepped into a mess there as it turned out that the Hutt's had been behind the kidnapping. She had run up against a brutal Huok named Kot who had a penchant for methodically dismembering those who crossed him. As the lead enforcer for the Hutts, Kot had inherited an old Sith lightsaber, a symbol of power that had been passed down for many generations. This was how Kot liked to remove bits and pieces of his victims, enjoying the fear and pleading that the bright red lightsaber invoked.

She had seen that fear in his eyes when she'd taken it from him and held it to his throat. The feel of it had been strange in her hand, then, almost seeming to beg to be used, to end this pitiful creature's life then and there. She had kept the lightsaber, and left Kot's head where it was, though she doubted it had stayed there for long as failing the Hutts tended to be a once in a lifetime event. It seemed fitting to finally replace her second lightsaber lost so long ago, albeit with a red one instead of the yellow that she had originally crafted. At first she had considered searching out a new crystal to replace the red one, but something about the way people responded to her when she snapped open that red lightsaber had convinced her otherwise. Returning the kidnapped girl to Daggo had been very satisfying, reminding her of life in the Jedi order. Between that, the new lightsaber, and the commission she had made, it'd been an incredibly good day.

"Ms. Tano." Daggo said, his lazy condescending voice accentuated by the buzzing of his wings. "You have good news for me?"

"It appears I do." She replied holding up the data chip.

"Excellent." He said flatly. "I never doubted you for a second, despite what others may whisper in my ears." He examined a hand absently. "Bring it to me at these coordinates." The numbers popped up on her display screen below the hologram.

She punched them into the navigation interface, checking to see that she had them entered accurately. After a moment the computer spat out the route details.

"I'll be there in nine hours."

In typical Daggo style he disconnected without a word of thanks or goodbye. She was used to it by now and actually quite appreciated the fact that he did not indulge in frivolous small talk. She swiveled around in her seat and called out.

"R4, get us out of here. The coordinates are already in the computer."

She stood, listening to the thrum of the thrusters moving them away from the planet below. '_I need a shower_.' She thought, still feeling the grease on her face from where her would be captor had grabbed her. She shuddered unconsciously, reliving the moment.

"I'll be in the back." She said offhandedly to R4, who chirped in acknowledgement.

Stepping through the automatic door she entered into the hallway that ran the length of the Remnant. The vessel had four cabins in addition to the galley and the cargo hold. Two of the cabins were empty, ready for occupants that never arrived. The third cabin she had modified into a makeshift holding cell for when her cargo happened to be a less than willing passenger. She turned and entered the first cabin on her left, the captain's cabin. It held very few possessions, a holdover of long held practices from when she had lived in the Jedi temple.

With practiced ease, she slipped her lightsabers off of her belt and dropped them gently onto the ridiculously oversized metal-top desk. The Remnant's prior owner had placed it just so, bolting it to the deck plating so that it lurked ominously facing the door. This was most definitely an intended maneuver to maximize any potential to intimidate those entering the captain's cabin. The previous owner had been a diminutive man and retrospectively she thought he would've needed any advantage he could get in this cut-throat business. She was slipping her boots off, sitting on her bed when the familiar sound of the hyperdrive initiation cycle started. She took a deep breath and concentrated as the jump began.

The first time someone experienced the jump to hyperspace in the Remnant could be unnerving. In addition to the normal vertigo that accompanied all hyperspace jumps, with its experimental drive the Remnant's jumps also tended to induce a sharp bout of nausea if you weren't ready for it. On more than one occasion she had been forced to scrub someone else's lunch off of the deck plating, a decidedly unpleasant task. There was still a discolored spot in the cargo hold where an unfortunate Neimoidian had unintentionally deposited some digestive acids. He had been only slightly mollified by the fact that he and his cargo had arrived sixteen hours ahead of his competition and had never reached out to procure her services again.

She stepped gingerly into the shower and let the water wash away the sand and grit that she had picked up in the scuffle. Cold water always made her feel better, especially after dealing with the scum of the galaxy. Reluctantly she reached up and turned off the valve, choking off the flow. Conserving resources as precious as water was priority number one when you lived most of your life in the empty expanses between the stars. The fact that the Remnant even had showers set it apart from most other vessels of its type, a significant selling point for the hygienically conscious former Jedi.

Dressing again, she eased herself onto a circular ottoman in the corner. It was placed strategically near the single large window so as to maximize the view out of the starboard hull. Crossing her legs underneath her she watched the ethereal streaks washing past the window. Hyperspace always relaxed her, the rhythmic humming of the engines, the constantly shifting light patterns. After a long moment she finally closed her eyes and began meditating.

'''''

Daggo flapped over to his lavish reclining chair. It was made of only the finest pure white No'Rikk furs, painstakingly sewn by hand into the plush covering that he now settled into. It was one of the many decadent pleasures that he allowed himself. '_After all, what was the point of wealth if you didn't enjoy spending every now and then_,' he thought as he sank deeper into the silky softness. He reached out to the platter overflowing with egg-seeds and popped a handful into his mouth.

Things hadn't always been so good for him, growing up on the unforgiving streets and alleys of Toydor. It was there that he had learned all he would need to succeed in a galaxy filled with crime and deceit. Early on he had discovered that he had a gift for making money off of other people's hard work. A Peggat here, a Credit there. At first it was just enough to make a meager living, but before long, he had a mini empire in the making. Of course he forever had to be paying off the Hutts, but that was par for the course for a Toydarian. Besides, the more money he made the more money they made, and that was just good business. And business was booming, now more than ever. With the formation of the first Galactic Empire the need for black market goods had sky rocketed and the money had practically made itself. The past four years had been lucrative to say the least.

And then there was this current endeavor. One on which he had wagered so much. Rumor had come to him through his network of ever listening ears that a buyer, for which money was no object, was looking to retrieve a stolen item. It had taken many a greased palm to find out what was sought, and he was banking hard on collecting the reward and recover his expenses. He had decided to send Quat, his most reliable contact to seek out the information. But Quat had disappeared without a trace. That had surprised Daggo immensely, not only because Quat had been working for him for almost three decades, but because he had not expected the competition to be so fierce. That had just increased his resolve to be the one to collect the fee.

The trail had gone immediately cold then, and the next two contacts he'd sent hadn't had any success either. In a last ditch effort he had called up his newest recruit. When they had first met he had thought Ahsoka merely a diversion, definitely pleasant to look at and fiery, but surely not cut out for life outside of civil society. He had considered making a place for her at his palace, to serve in some inflated capacity for his amusement, but he had decided she was too willful for such things. He had opted instead to toss her a bone, a small odd job that he was positive she would fail at and in the process make one of his competitors look bad.

But he had been entirely wrong, and that was rare. Ahsoka had proven to be quite the asset, and cheap compared with many of the rest of his regulars. She was definitely different from all others he hired, not simply because she was female, but because her methods were unique as well. Like the time she had casually walked into his restaurant in the Tra'ak District, one of his many business fronts, and asked for the reward for information on the whereabouts of a particularly indebted client of his. After asking her where he was, she had pointed to an empty booth near the door. He had laughed at her then, telling her to come back when she had real information for him. She had shrugged and taken a seat at the bar. He'd done a double take five minutes later when the man had walked into his restaurant and sat at the very table she had pointed to earlier. Ahsoka had stood up then, throwing him a knowing look.

And now she had come through for him once again. It had taken a significant amount of time, but she had succeeded where no others had, and that made him smile. '_I'll have enough money to buy my own planet_.' Daggo thought with satisfaction.

'''''

Ahsoka's eyes snapped open as R4 rolled into her cabin. He whistled and chirped to let her know they had just dropped out of hyperspace. She hadn't noticed, so deeply had she been focused on reliving a particularly vivid memory of leading clone troops into battle. How rash she had been back then, ready to risk her life and the lives of others just to win the approval of her master. That had been Anakin Skywalker and she had wanted nothing more than to earn his respect and acceptance.

When she had first discovered the downfall of the Jedi order she had crept back to Coruscant as soon as she safely could. There she had sought out his fate as well as those of all her former friends. All information pertaining to the Jedi had been, and still was, tightly under wraps by Imperial order, but rumors were that Anakin had had been killed by the Emperor's right hand Darth Vader while protecting the younglings in the temple. She had also learned to her great sadness that her good friend Senator Padme Amidala had died during the 'Jedi Rebellion', as the destruction of the Jedi order was now referred to, supposedly cut down by a Jedi Knight in cold blood. She found that extremely hard to believe along with the notion that the Jedi Council had ordered the overthrow of the government. That wise master's like Plo Koon, Yoda, and Mace Windu would ever consider undermining the Galactic Senate seemed ridiculous.

She had given up her search then and headed back out into the galaxy to pursue her own destiny, convinced that those who had managed to kill her mentors would likely find her little resistance at all. At first she had assumed that Count Dooku had been behind the Jedi's downfall but had learned fairly early on in her investigation that Anakin himself had actually killed Dooku while rescuing then Chancellor Palpatine. That had brought a smile to her face, but it had quickly been replaced by sadness. She would have been there, by her master's side had things not played out as they did. But by that same token, she would almost surely be dead now along with all of her friends as well. She had struggled with that for a long time too, the guilt of surviving when so many better people hadn't. She'd gone to a dark place in her mind for a while, and only the enjoyment she got from her work had, eventually, brought her back. Work and the satisfaction that came from doing what others believed she couldn't.

And now here she was, again doing what no one else had been able to do, about to deliver to Daggo the information he'd been seeking for almost a year. Granted the others hadn't been able to use the Force to their advantage as she could, but she did her best to disguise her abilities. Using the force these days was an easy way to bring the Galactic Empire's army down on you in a hurry. The staggering bounty for delivering anyone exhibiting Force manipulating powers, added to the hysteria fed by the fear of an ignorant public, had resulted in making the galaxy a dangerous place for a Jedi, former or not. Many an innocent neighbor had disappeared in the early years, wrongly accused of being a Jedi in disguise, not to mention any actual Jedi. She had to believe that there were other survivors out there, but she had never seen or heard from any of them, and in a sense she wasn't sure she wanted to find them. After all, she was no longer part of the order and hadn't been for a long time.

Stiffly Ahsoka unkinked her legs, feeling the rush of blood return to her extremities. She waited a long moment for the feeling to fully return before she stood and strode purposefully to the door, sliding the data chip into her pocket as she walked. She hesitated a moment at the doorway, looking sidelong at her twin lightsabers resting on the desk, but exited leaving them where they lay. It was easier to avoid unwanted questions from Daggo than to bring them with her and risk being discovered. She considered Daggo a friend, but knew that he would sell her out in a heartbeat if it meant collecting a reward or avoiding trouble.

The pilot's seat creaked wearily as she grasped the manual thruster controls. R4 had dropped them safely out of hyperspace at the edge of the Kandor system just as procedure would dictate. If she had been piloting she would have plotted the more hazardous course into the heart of the system, cutting off a good twenty minutes of maneuvering, but piloting through hyperspace was tedious and she was more than happy to let R4 deal with the monotony. Besides, there was still fun to be had piloting inside a star system. As an example she swung the steering controller sharply to port so as to pass harmlessly, yet sickeningly close to a roiling comet. She distinctly heard the light rattle as the tiny shards of ice ejected by the comet's expanding internal gases showered the Remnant's hull. She motored onward, leaving the comet to continue its inevitable cycle of death around its host star.

Rounding Kandor's largest planet, a gas giant that she couldn't remember the name of offhand, she thought once again of the life she'd walked away from. At the time she would have told you she left because her faith in the system had been shaken, and that she needed time to consider the ramifications of the fallibility of the Jedi order. Now though, she realized that it was more complicated than that. Over time she'd decided that the galaxy couldn't be painted in the simple black and white terms that the Jedi preached. Sure, too much emotion could lead to the dark side, but conversely, the lack of emotion was just as bad.

Ahsoka grimaced, threading the Remnant carefully through an asteroid belt. There were no easy answers to be found, inside oneself or out here in the vastness of space. At the very least she had not yet discovered the truth about balancing the Force and emotion, but giving up was simply not part of who she was.

She continued to ponder this and other questions as the only rocky planet to orbit Kandor swung into view. There was no life to be found on it, much like the rest of this region of space. Why Daggo had chosen this remote location to conduct their transaction and not at his palace on Tatooine as was typical she didn't even dare to speculate. Daggo did whatever he wanted to do, and you lived with that if you wanted to work. Out of habit she activated the sensor array as she eased into planetary orbit. One other ship registered on the screen, Daggo's luxury yacht the Vorta. Ahsoka had only seen it once from afar when she had been delivering a particularly cantankerous Gamorrean back to Daggo. Her curiosity was definitely piqued.

The Vorta was at least twice the size of the Remnant, and whereas the Remnant devoted much of its internal volume to cargo storage, the Vorta had no such low class restrictions. Rumors had it that Daggo had an entire deck converted for use as a Pugil arena, of which he was a significant financer, follower, and gambler. It was even said that the grand championship bout between Trasnak Mo'Cai and Hom Jaal, an epic battle that had lasted eighty-seven full rounds, had taken place onboard. Regardless of the mythos, Ahsoka looked forward to finally learning the truth for herself.

Easing off the throttle, she steered the Remnant within docking distance of the Vorta.

"R4" she said, depressing the ship's public announcement switch. "Come up here and start the docking procedures."

A moment later R4 rolled noisily into the cockpit and settled into the astromech interface station.

"Remind me to lubricate your impellor sprockets and wheel joints when I get back" she said, remembering the various other minutiae on board that required her attention. R4 squawked his concurrence with her assessment, and began the docking procedures.

Ahsoka made her way out of the cockpit and down the main hallway to the one remaining functional docking hatch. Grabbing the life support mask hanging adjacent to the airlock she placed it over her face. She had learned the hard way not to trust the seals to hold on the first try. Watching through the tiny circular airlock window she felt the Remnant lurch as contact was made. It was another few seconds before she heard the airlock motors engage and the sound of pressurization beginning. The light had just turned green on the control panel when R4's communicator notification buzzed on her arm.

"What is it R4" she said, suddenly tired.

Through a series of beeps and whistles R4 informed her that the Vorta had not followed proper docking protocol and verified airlock seal strength as was required.

"Thank you R4" she replied, more out of habit than out of necessity. That the Vorta wasn't following '_procedure_' didn't bother her at all. R4 had been originally assigned as an astromech on a government vessel where rules were prized above all else, and he still adhered to many of the strict protocols and procedures that had been required. She had pondered changing his programming on numerous occasions to remove such extraneous dogma, but had left it in place as a failsafe to keep her on her toes. '_Complacency breeds convalescence'_ she'd heard Master Obi Wan say on more than one occasion.

Firmly gripping the actuator handle, she twisted and pulled the door inward. It screeched in protest, a testament to how often she used it. '_Yet another item to add to my list of repairs_', she thought morosely. Maintaining this ship was a fulltime job in itself.

Carefully she stepped through the hatch and, out of an abundance of caution, swung the door closed behind her, sealing it. Even through her mask she could hear the high pitched whistle of escaping air. That always made her nervous, but she steeled herself and walked to the outer hatch. Peering through the tiny window, she saw no one waiting on the other side to greet her. That struck her as odd as Daggo liked to show off his wealth by flaunting his power over others, none easier than by having slaves welcome and conduct his guests to him.

Seeing the green light through the access window, she spun the circular handle on her end and repeated the motion to gain entrance to the Vorta. The difference was immediately palpable. The walls and deck plating she now stood on were immaculate. Even the lighting over here seemed brighter. Turning back to the Remnant, she once again heard the intense whistling and closed the airlock behind her, abruptly cutting off the noise. The air about her seemed to sigh in relief as well, even though that was just an artifact of the re-pressurization. Carefully she removed her mask and hung it on the Vorta's airlock door actuator, slightly annoyed that she had to resort to such tactics to survive aboard her own vessel. Perhaps with the money she made off of this contract she would pay to have the docking port properly repaired.

She turned and walked to the inner airlock door, here expecting to be greeted by some voluptuous and equally vacuous Twi'lek slave girl, but again no one was to be seen. '_Daggo must really be trying to keep this meeting out of public sight_' she thought, further comprehending why this remote location might have been selected. She easily spun the inner airlock door release and stepped into the Vorta proper. Immediately she despised it. Outwardly it was everything one might want in a luxury cruiser, down to the authentic Wahril oil painting that adorned the foyer wall. She had never been partial to Wahril paintings, finding them to be tasteless and iterative.

Standing in the hallway she could hear the thin strains of an Erchestrian orchestral arrangement being played through the loudspeakers. The intended effect, if there was one, was lost on her. With a shrug she started down the hallway, quickly arriving at an intersection. The placard on the wall displayed two arrows, pointing in opposite directions. Rolling her eyes, Ahsoka turned to the left and proceeded toward the command center, leaving behind the other corridor and its arrow pointing toward the 'Pleasure Baths' whatever those might have been.

Within a short distance she stepped through an automatic doorway and the excessive qualities of the bulkheads abruptly vanished. The panels lost their decorative coverings and functionality ruled once again. This made her feel somewhat more comfortable, being more at home with the useful than the excessive, yet a sudden bout of apprehension gripped her and mid-step she paused.

She sensed that something was amiss but the feeling was fleeting and unfocused. Glancing behind her, only the empty hallway stared back. She fought a sudden urge to return to the airlock and wait until someone came for her, but she dismissed that notion almost as quickly as it had come to her. Determined, she pushed onward. Ahead the causeway split again, this time with a placard denoting the command bridge to the left and a host of other locales to the right. She swung left and approached the Vorta's bridge, more hesitant the closer she came to the door. She took the final step and the bridge door whispered open. The scene before her stopped her dead in her tracks.

Three different types of blood, at minimum, splattered the walls of the Vorta's cockpit. The patterns strangely reminded her of the Wahril painting she had passed back in the airlock. Daggo, or more accurately what remained of Daggo, was draped over the central display console. His wings had been forcibly removed and were displayed on a nearby wall, a single knife blade pinning them where they hung dripping ichor onto the floor. It appeared he'd been tortured while each remaining limb had been lashed to a corner of the command projection table. She repressed the urge to vomit and further assessed the chaos. Her training was kicking in now, the familiar disassociation that came from years of experience with the grotesqueness of war.

Whoever had done this had attacked rapidly from within as there were no visible signs of a struggle nor was there any accompanying damage on the outside of the ship. Ahsoka dropped her gaze once again to Daggo's clouded and vacant eyes and realized that whatever had occurred here had not ended long ago. Instinctively she reached for her lightsabers but found only bare leather.

"Shit" she swore under her breath.

She felt, more than saw, movement to her left. Spinning she came face-to-face with a tactical assault droid. It was a model she was not familiar with, an obvious upgrade from the days of the early Clone Wars. It stood several feet taller than her. Integrated blasters adorned each forearm leaving its hands free for other exploits. In the droid's right hand it held a serrated blade, currently sporting blood that resembled that which was still oozing from Daggo's corpse. In the other hand a neuronic whip suddenly crackled to life.

Ahsoka launched herself into the ceiling support beams somersaulting onto a nearby control panel as blaster fire ricocheted off of the bulkhead where she had just been standing. She twisted, bringing a heavy leather boot around to connect with the assault droid's head, but it was much too fast for that. The droid slid neatly sideways, avoiding her attack and bringing its serrated knife to bear. She winced as the knife bit into the flesh of her leg, a glancing blow but still a painful one. Blood welled in the freshly furrowed channel.

Ahsoka rolled backwards, dropping to the floor behind the navigational paneling, just avoiding the next barrage of blaster fire. Crawling quickly on all fours, she circled around to her left, hearing the ponderous clank of the droid's metal feet as it slowly approached the panel she had just left. Coming to a break in the consoles, she turned inward, resting for a moment with her back against the bulkhead. The droid was silent for the time being, waiting for her to move and reveal her location.

Reaching down, she grasped a data pad that had been dropped by the unfortunate navigator who slumped lifelessly in his seat a hair's breadth away. The screen of the data pad was heavily cracked and no longer displayed information, but that was not why she'd picked it up. Carefully, she leaned out to her right, just enough until she had spied the droid's foot brace. She was just preparing to throw the broken pad toward the wall when her arm communicator chirped to life. R4 could not have chosen a less appropriate time to contact her.

Attracted to the sound the assault droid moved with super-human speed, lashing the neuronic whip as it came leaping over the console. Only a last second dive accompanied by a perfectly aimed flip of the data pad into the droids face kept her from being subjected to the searing arc of pure electricity. Ahsoka recovered quickly but so did the droid. It spun toward her, its outstretched arm belching a trail of liquid fire. '_Great_' she thought as the heat from the gushing flame filled the room '_of course it has a flame thrower_'.

She cartwheeled away, ending up crouching in front of the pilot's chair. Keeping the high-backed chair solidly between her and the advancing droid, she frantically scanned around her for a weapon, anything to fight back with. A klaxon suddenly blared to life and the fire suppression systems activated in a deluge of fire retardant foam. The droid paused for a second as its flamethrower guttered out.

In the moment's respite, Ahsoka took stock of her situation. There was only one way off of the bridge and the droid stood directly between her and it. She looked down at the deceased pilot in front of her. His neck had been snapped and was dangling at a disturbingly unnatural angle. "Sorry about this" she mumbled, grabbing onto the pilot's jumpsuit with both hands. The droid had given up on the flamethrower and had resumed its course toward her current hiding spot.

Holding the limp pilot in front of her, Ahsoka ran directly at her assailant. She felt the impacts of the blaster fire on her makeshift shield and smelled the pilot's burning flesh. As she collided with the assault droid, the tip of it's serrated blade punched completely through the pilot's chest, stopping just shy of her face. The droid stepped backward from the force of their meeting. For a sickening second she thought it would stay upright, but fortune was with her, and it toppled to the deck, slipping on the retardant foam still raining downward.

Leaping over the prone pair, Ahsoka streaked toward doorway and escape. She was halfway through the bridge's automatic doorway when pain exploded up her leg and throughout her entire body. Every muscle spasmed violently and she collapsed in an agonizing heap on the threshold. Around her ankle was wound the crackling tip of the neuronic whip. White-hot pain knifed up her leg a second time and she almost lost consciousness. Behind her she could hear the droid righting itself, the wet thud as the pilot's body slid into the growing layers of foam. With all her strength Ahsoka rolled onto her back, facing her opponent once more.

This time there was no urgency in its steps, now just the confident methodical step of certainty. Standing over her, crackling whip in hand, it activated its cranial communications node. She didn't wait to find out what it was going to say or who was on the other end, instead focusing all her Force energy at the center of the droid's armored chest plate. With a piercing shriek she released all the pent up energy she could muster in a concussive blast that lifted the droid clear of the floor and smashed him against the bridge's main view port on the opposite side of the room. It slumped to the floor, silent for a moment before its head snapped back up to focus on Ahsoka.

She had been thrown a good fifteen feet back along the ground into the hallway. A single, almost lazy crack crept out from behind where the droid now stood, followed suddenly by a sharp crunch and the appearance of a multitude of lines radiating quickly out from the point of impact. The droid took two quick steps toward her but suddenly disappeared in a mad rush of escaping air. In horror, Ahsoka was sucked back down the hallway toward the now gaping hole that had been the view port. Her fingers raked desperately at the deck plating, scrabbling for any kind of purchase, but none was to be found. In an instant she was back at the doorway and she jammed a foot to either side of the hatch. This finally halted her progress but the relentless onslaught of air continued to tug at her. The automatic door, now beneath her, was partially closed but it looked like it had been jammed from the force of her energy burst. Grasping a wall conduit with a both hands she swung her left foot down and kicked the door hard. It shifted a few inches further closed and with two more swift kicks it finally snapped to.

Ahsoka lay on the floor in a heap, her chest heaving from exertion. She marveled that she was still alive. In the renewed silence her wrist communicator insistently chirped to life as R4 once again tried to contact her. Carefully righting herself, she winced in pain. Nothing was broken, she could tell that right away, but her leg stung where the droid's blade had left its mark and she would most likely be discovering new aches for a few days. She stood up and started heading back the way she came, pressing the comm switch on her arm as she did so.

"I'm a bit busy over here," she said flatly into the receiver. "What is it?" But before R4 could respond, the Vorta lurched beneath her. Two more sickening impacts followed quickly on the heels of the first one. '_That's canon fire_.' She thought, having been in too many space battles to not immediately recognize the sensation of being under fire.

"R4!" she yelled into the communicator, "Rotate the Remnant to keep it behind the Vorta!"

R4 chirped back something about how she was still on the Vorta, but she ignored him and sprinted down the hallway toward the airlock. The impacts were coming fast and hard now, in bursts of three. '_Imperial battle cruiser, or something very similar'_ she thought, recognizing the pattern. '_What was an Imperial Cruiser doing all the way out here, and why was it attacking_?' There was no time to ponder such things now though, the Vorta, with only rudimentary hull plating and its energy shielding down, was coming apart rapidly. Ahsoka tore off down the hallway, retracing her earlier steps.

Rounding the final corner, the airlock door appeared at the end of the corridor. She had barely taken two steps when, with a crash and the far off sound of twisting metal, all power failed on the Vorta. Ahsoka, suddenly weightless, found herself tumbling toward the ceiling, her forward momentum still carrying her toward the airlock. In a fluid motion she grasped ahold of one of the decorative chandeliers and propelled herself directly at the airlock control valve. Her life support mask floated listlessly in air, one of the straps still looped around the door actuator where she had left it. Hastily she pulled it over her face and grasped the valve.

When she had entered this way, the valve had slid smooth as glass from the open to closed position, now it took all of her strength to make it budge. '_This is what you get when you over complicate things._' She grunted and cursed inwardly at the power assist motors that now sat uselessly idle behind the wall panels. With a final determined push, the actuator popped into place and she hauled the door open. Still floating weightlessly she quickly scooted through, pulling the door shut behind her. She had just spun the circular valve closed on the Vorta's inner airlock door when the ship tore herself apart.

She watched through the tiny round window as the hallway where she had just been sheered away in a tangle of twisted metal, bent pipes, and snapping conduit. The Vorta continued to break up in front of her eyes, flame appearing through gaping holes in its hull. The remains were rapidly losing the battle with the gravity of the planet below now that its engines were gone. Tilting her head to get a better view Ahsoka noted with growing trepidation how low their orbit had become.

A light push-off with her legs was all it took to catapult her to the outer airlock door, still attached to the Remnant. Once more she pried the actuator valve into the open position and yanked the final hatch out of the way. This time she didn't bother to close it, instead immediately spinning the Remnant's mechanical controls and landing in a pile on the deck plating as gravity resumed. She kicked the Remnant's airlock door closed with her feet and spun shut the valve, hanging on it for a brief second. The familiar whistling of the escaping air had never sounded so good.

"Get us out of here R4!' she yelled into her communicator. Clambering over to the interior door she breathed a quick sigh of relief as she reentered the ship proper. She didn't have long to enjoy the moment though. Now that the Vorta was disintegrating in the atmosphere nothing stood between the Remnant and the relentless onslaught of canon fire. She tossed the life support mask to the deck and sprinted up the hallway to the bridge. The automatic door couldn't open fast enough so she spun sideways to pass through. She slammed into her favored pilot's seat and threw the restraining straps over her shoulders. R4 was doing an admirable job at maneuvering through the burning debris still in orbit but there was no way he was going to get them away from their attackers.

Grasping the steering controller in one hand and the throttle control for her most reliable engine in the other, Ahsoka banked the Remnant hard, descending deeper down into the Vorta's debris field. R4 squawked his displeasure at their radical course change.

"Just get the hyperdrive ready!" she shot back, twisting the steering controller to bring the Remnant into a barrel roll. Canon shots zipped perilously close to the hull, one landing a glancing blow to the cargo bay. Ahsoka glanced quickly over to the tactical display and noted that while the shield strength was down to forty percent, the armor plating was intact and undamaged. She spun the steering controller again, dodging behind another large chunk of the Vorta, but she was fast running out of places to hide. Without a moment to spare the hyperdrive light blinked on, indicating that a jump was now possible.

Ahsoka slammed the steering controller fully back sending the Remnant screaming directly away from the planet's surface. When they had reached a safe distance she called out, "Plot a course to anywhere but here R4." The canon fire was zipping past them on all sides now. "Do it fast." She added seeing the Imperial cruiser changing course to intercept them. R4 beeped his understanding and in a second she heard the hyperdrive spool up. She closed her eyes and focused, preparing for the jump, but a loud crash greeted her instead, and the sound of the hyperdrive faded from hearing.

"I can see that!" she replied to R4's stating that the hyperdrive had been overloaded by a direct hit. She checked the scanners and located a small moon orbiting near the planet's northern pole. "Get us behind that moon." she said stabbing a finger down onto the display screen. "Evasive pattern 'Ahsoka One'. Keep those hyperdrive coordinates ready!"

With that she leapt out of her seat again and made for the engine compartment. There was no time now to recalibrate the Remnant's experimental drive and she'd be lucky if they stayed out of tractor range for another two minutes. Bypassing the cobbled array of hoses and wires from the overloaded hyperdrive, smoking nicely at the moment, she slid an adjacent access panel neatly aside and dropped it the floor. Behind it was the Remnant's original class 4 hyperdrive. It hadn't been used in ages and the dust on the intake pipes showed it. Reaching into a tangle of conduit lines she groped blindly as the seconds ticked by.

She had just grasped the cable she was searching for when another impact shook the hull and bounced it out of her reach again. The shields had to be close to failing by now, and even with the Remnant's advanced armoring, Ahsoka knew they wouldn't stand up to bombardment for long. But what she truly dreaded was the eerie silence that would descend when the battle cruiser's tractor beam engaged.

Ahsoka's outstretched fingers grasped the cable again, and tracing its length, she found the free end. Time was running out. She pulled the cable out of the tangled mess and stretched it as far as it would go. Reaching with her free hand over to the smoldering hunk that was the overloaded drive, she tugged free a conduit that matched the one extending from the wall. She hastily lined up their pins and mashed the two lines together. Spinning on her heel, she hit the manual start up lever and held her breath. With an audible clunk, the old hyperdrive slowly chugged to life.

"Get ready to jump!" she screamed into her wrist communicator over the increasing whine of the drive. Each of the charging indicator lights seemed to take an eternity to switch on. Her heart stopped for a moment when the final light failed to illuminate.

"No, no, no, no, NO!" she screamed banging her fist into the wall. The impact caused the light to flicker on, and she realized wryly that the wires for the indicator light must just have been loose.

"Now!" she called out to R4 over the roar of the fully charged hyperdrive, "Do it now!"

In a flash the Remnant disappeared from the Kandor system, leaving the ponderous Imperial cruiser alone with only the smoking remains of the Vorta as a prize.


	3. Chapter 3

Ahsoka slumped to the deck letting her back rest against the panel covering sitting against the wall. Now that the chaos had ended and her adrenaline was waning reality came flooding back. '_Poor Daggo_,' she thought, '_nobody deserved to go like that_.' She was sure he'd done a number of horrible things throughout his life, but even so they couldn't have added up to the horror she'd seen on the Vorta's bridge. She wanted to let her emotions rule her but forcibly calmed herself and begin meditating right there on the floor. It took her much longer than normal to clear her mind and find her center.

Meditating had been the first skill they'd been taught as Jedi younglings, meditation to control their emotions. At the time it had seemed so boring and useless. She'd had to be disciplined multiple times before she realized it was easier to simply give her teachers what they wanted than to fight them. That she acquiesced didn't change how she felt about it inside though, and Master Yoda, for one, definitely knew. Master Plo Koon had also known and he'd finally pulled her aside one day and explained to her that although she might not see the value of meditating it would be a skill she'd need just as much as the skills she'd learn with a lightsaber. He'd gone on to give further examples about how the rudimentary stretches and tumbling the younglings did in group exercises would translate directly into forms for self-defense and, eventually, combat. That had done it for her, seeing how everything fit together and overnight she became the best youngling student at the temple. Her hard work had paid off later too when she was promoted to Padiwan learner far ahead of the rest of her cadre of recruits.

Those skills were indeed paying off now, and in a moment she felt herself again. Easing her back and shoulders she stood once more.

"How we doing R4?" she said, using the wall communications panel this time. R4 informed her that in addition to the loss of the main hyperdrive they'd received minor damage to the main thruster engine manifold, the shielding grid needed realignment, and that they were still attached to what remained of the Vorta's airlock. "I'll get started on the hyperdrive," she said depressing the button once more, "put us on autopilot and see what you can do with the manifolds."

She turned and placed a hand on the disabled hyperdrive and proceeded to give herself a nice little burn. "Dammit!" she cursed sucking on her injured fingers. '_This can wait' _she thought, rediscovering her other injuries. Turning away she strode from the engine compartment and made her way to the medical bay.

Calling the flip down panel a 'medical bay' was a huge overstatement, but that was what it was designated according to the riveted nameplate on the wall. She hadn't had to use it often so it was still quite well stocked. She decided to start first with her freshly acquired burns, smearing the Triphentyl-Cortyne cream on them. The relief was immediate so she wrapped a bandage quickly over the two fingers, binding them together. Next she turned her attention to her leg. The blood had dried already and in the process had cemented part of her pants to the wound. '_This isn't going to be fun._'

She winced slightly as she pulled at the cloth. '_I'll have to cut it away.'_ she thought, sadness in her eyes. Of course these would be her favorite pair of pants. To her credit, she only hesitated for a second before slicing into the fabric. After she'd pared it down as close to the wound as she dared it was simply a matter of irrigating the laceration until the remaining strip of cloth came free. The disinfectant burned quite a bit, but she felt much better now that the wound was cleaned and wrapped in its own clean bandage.

She stood up and observed her work. '_Not bad,_' she thought, '_I'd have made a half decent nurse._' Suddenly she burst into a gale of laughter as the vision of herself in the full nurse getup sprang into her mind. As the mirth died down she swung the med-bay panel closed and latched it, turning back toward the engine compartment.

As she was walking her hand brushed the data chip in her pocket and she halted abruptly, digging down to grasp it. Curiosity rushed back to her mind and she suddenly wondered if what was on this chip had gotten Daggo killed. After all, Daggo had not been a recluse, and there would have been many easier and more accessible locations for an assassination to take place if that had been the only goal. The only difference that she could think of was that Daggo had been about to take possession of what she now held in her hand. A further realization struck her. If the Empire was after it, as the attacking battle cruiser would imply, she was in deep trouble. After all, the Remnant was a fairly recognizable ship with all of its hull modifications, not to mention the name she'd painstakingly painted on it by hand, and the Empire had nearly limitless resources and influence, especially in the inner rim systems.

She walked away from the engine compartment and headed instead to the bridge where the lone data interface was located. Plopping down into her pilot's seat she carefully lined up the pins and clicked the chip into place. The display console lit up as she turned and pressed a button to scanned the chip for viruses. None were present, and to her surprise, no encryption either. Pressing another button she brought the file system up on the main holographic display, but that turned out to be unnecessary as there was only a single file on the chip. It was a text only file containing very little data.

Her brow furrowed in confusion, '_Surely this tiny file couldn't be worth all that money Daggo was willing to pay for it_' she thought. Regardless of Daggo's motivations which were a moot point now, she depressed the button to open the file and was greeted by a simple set of coordinates. '_That's it?!_' she thought incredulously, '_This is what got Daggo killed and nearly me along with him?_' She reached down and plugged the displayed coordinates into the navigational computer. The computer display returned a blank screen with no information other than empty space.

She checked the numbers again and reentered them, getting the same result. Whatever might be at those coordinates was not in her system. That gave her pause as she'd spent quite a bit extra to get the latest mapping software from a well-respected black market merchant. Her maps were more thorough than those of anybody else's she'd seen to date. '_Could it be a newly discovered planet, rich in resources?'_ she pondered to herself, '_or a trap set for Daggo or anyone else, leading into the center of a black hole?_' She'd need more information if she wanted to pursue this mystery further, and some part of her felt she owed Daggo that much at least for all the opportunities he'd given her. But this presented a problem as the only place in the galaxy, that she knew of, that would have better records than those she currently had access to was in the central library of the Jedi temple, in the midst of the stronghold of the very Galactic Empire that surely was scouring everywhere for her ship right now. She drummed the fingers of her non-bandaged hand on the console, weighing her options.

"R4," she said into the internal communications system, "when you're done with the engine manifolds I need you to calculate a jump to Tatooine."

The Remnant's thrusters fired forcefully, gradually slowing its decent into the space port of Bestine, Tatooine's capital city. The dust had mostly settled when Ahsoka stepped lightly down the cargo bay ramp and onto landing pad Beta Seven. She was covered head to toe in a bright yellow emergency radiation suit and accompanying respiration gear. Pressing the remote gangplank control button, the Remnant's ramp slowly crept back up behind her. The local custom's official skidded to an abrupt halt when he saw Ahsoka in her protective gear walking his direction. Removing her helmet as she reached him she said, "Rhodinium ore went dynastic." and jerked a thumb at the Remnant.

"Gah!" the customs official grumped, "She'll be unstable for a month!" He scribbled a note on his clipboard. "It'll cost you to keep her in quarantine for the duration, you know." He said as he signaled two deckhands who came running up. "Close the containment hanger doors! This one'll be here at least a while in decon." He turned back to Ahsoka, hand out, palm up. "Twenty Peggats, up front." He seemed happy to be getting down to business.

"Twenty!" She retorted, beginning the inevitable bartering. In the end they settled on fourteen Peggats. She knew that the typical cost should have been around half that, but she let the customs official think he'd fleeced her, knowing instead that having the Remnant out of sight and untouchable for a month was worth every coin.

Settling up with the official, Ahsoka proceeded into the city. She again wore her full length grey cloak and traveling clothes, knowing it would be a long time before she had the benefit of her full wardrobe aboard the Remnant. Turning back, she could just see the top of the circular hanger doors shutting over her ship, before the whole structure began descending into the ground. She let out a resigned sigh and began walking again.

The fine establishment she was heading towards was a local cantina called "Rikk'na Ordno Vah-oorn 'A" which roughly translated to "The fat lady who knew too much". She'd never learned, nor did she particularly desire to learn, why the place had been given its name. What she did know, from past experience, was that it was a good place to meet the type of people who, for the right price, would take on passengers headed for the core systems.

Pushing through the double swinging doors she was greeted by a flood of raucous laughter. Ahsoka scanned the smoke filled room twice over, but did not see any familiar faces. She'd been hoping to find jolly old Fleener or even the surly Wookie Nibacco, but their usual seats were filled with unfamiliar, and highly inebriated, traders. She was about to leave and try a different location when a peculiar patron at the bar caught her eye. He was a Durosian, a trader by the look of his clothing, and an island of calm in the midst of drunken rabble around him. He sat at the very end of the bar, his long fingers steepled in front of his face.

Striding across the room she easily dodged a thrown mug that trailed a vile smelling purple liquid. Reaching the bar she flopped the passed-out occupant on the barstool next to the trader to the floor with barely a tug and seated herself as the Durosian glanced sidelong at her. She ignored him and tried to signal the bartender, an Ithorian who seemed overwhelmed by his current clientele.

"You'd get a drink faster if you brewed it yourself" the trader said beside her.

"Why is it so hard to get good service out here in the Outer Rim?" she replied, finally turning to look at him.

"First time visiting the outer systems, eh?" he said dropping his palms to the bar top. "Things out here aren't easy like life in the core."

"Is that so?" she asked, hoping he would take the bait.

"I was there once, years ago." He said, staring into the mirror that ran the length of the wall behind the bar. "Had a delegation of Nemoidians whose ship broke down and needed to get to Coruscant, something about testifying before the Senate." He continued, eyes focusing on something far away. "Paid damn good they did." He chuckled. "I made enough to put myself up in the Cosmos Grand for two nights, and then some!" His face dropped and she could see sadness in his eyes.

"Think you could make that run again?" she asked carefully.

"I ain't got enough fuel to get to Geonosis from here, let alone the core systems." He said, showing his teeth. He turned and looked at her fully for the first time. "I just lost my contract with the Trade Federation this morning." He said, unconsciously making a fist. "I'm finished. Through."

Ahsoka smiled at him then, causing him to squint at her suspiciously. "The name's Ahsoka," she said easily extending her hand, "and I have a business proposal for you." The Durosian hesitantly grasped her hand and shook it.

"I'm Zazmorendo Sartonanti, but my friends call me Zass." He said, a smile creeping across his face.

'''''

Two weeks later Ahsoka found herself standing at the Industrial Spaceport on Coruscant. She was helping Zass unload their cargo of Ghoppa root into the customs warehouse.

"Fifteen hours." He said as they pushed another pallet into place. "Fifteen hours and not a moment more."

"I'll be back long before long that," she said pulling the release cable on the hover cart and dropping the pallet into the ever growing neat rows. "You just be ready to leave when I signal."

They had thoroughly discussed strategy on the long and circuitous voyage to the core. At first it had focused on what cargo they would need to purchase, and trade, in order to get access to Coruscant, and once that had been solidified, what to do when they got there.

"Just don't leave me sitting here holding my cloaca in my hands." He'd quipped.

"I won't." She'd retorted, letting the vulgarity wash over her. "I'll be ready to leave before you are."

As Zass reversed the anti-gravity lift from the pallet Ahsoka glanced furtively around. The customs officers were currently berating an unfortunate freight hauler who it seemed, from what she could overhear, had forgotten to fill out his docking form in triplicate. No amount of remorse or begging was going to get him off the hook, and although Ahsoka felt bad for him, she used the opportunity to slip quietly out of the warehouse and into the anonymity of the adjacent street crowd.

The pulse of the planet was immediately familiar, so much so that she had to fight her natural instinct to parade around with the confidence that the pre-Empire Jedi had exuded. Pulling her hood as far forward as she could, Ahsoka edged her way through the sea of people, toward the public transport stations. Even though she knew no one was looking for her, out of habit she kept to the shadows as much as possible. Boarding the anti-gravity train for the business district, she settled into a vacant seat near the rear of the car and watched the buildings zip past through the window.

She was marveling at how much the city had changed since she had last visited when the door between cars had opened and two clone troopers entered from the trailing one. They were stopping methodically at each bench, scanning the digital identification cards of each passenger. '_Why now_?' Ahsoka thought, wishing she had had the extra money to spend on a forged ident card. With the new regime and its regulations, those were difficult to come by and even harder to manipulate, driving the black market price through the stratosphere. Ahsoka had gambled on luck and it appeared to have run out on her. The train was still far from the next station when the troopers got to the benches where Ahsoka was seated. She had chosen the spot specifically because there were no other people nearby, but now that seemed to be a liability. The senior trooper of the two approached her, holding out his scanning device.

"ID please." he said in the familiar voice that all clones had.

Ahsoka looked up, concentrating hard upon the mind behind the vacant white mask. Her right hand moved ever so slightly. "I don't need an ID." She said flatly. It had been a long time since she had tried using the Force to affect another's mind, but she knew, or more accurately had known, clones well and had confidence in her abilities. The Trooper paused for a moment, as if confused, but then repeated verbatim, "You don't need an ID."

His partner, just now arriving seemed to notice something amiss. "What was that?" he asked of the first Trooper. Shifting her focus to the second Trooper, Ahsoka repeated her previous statement.

"I don't need an ID."

The Troopers looked at each other for a second before the second Trooper said to the first, "She doesn't need an ID." and they passed on to the next car. Ahsoka let out a gush of withheld air, sinking back into her seat. She was glad that her skills still worked, but had not wanted to have to test them in such a precarious situation.

Three stops later, Ahsoka stepped from the train onto the crowded platform. The business district was busy no matter the time of day, especially with the multitude of species here that didn't need to sleep or conversely chose to hibernate for extended periods separated by seemingly interminable months of wakefulness. Regardless of why, the crowds never ceased here at the heart of the district.

Following the general flow of people, Ahsoka drifted toward the main avenue that led to what had been the Jedi temple. As she neared she could see the pinkish haze that outlined the energy barriers erected to keep people off of the premises. '_All these years later and it's still considered a crime scene_,' she mused. But if anyone knew how to break into the Jedi temple it was Ahsoka. She had once followed the trail of Cad Bane, the infamous bounty hunter, as he had broken into the temple to steal a holocron. She planned to do the same now, figuring it should be much easier without the Jedi actively monitoring the defense matrix.

Breaking from the crowd, Ahsoka slipped down an all but empty alleyway. It paralleled the outer wall of the temple and was comprised of the back of a mixture of odd shops, and now, low income housing units. Tilting her head back and looking at the distant upper levels of the temple far above, she spotted the darkness that was the vent hatch she sought. She looked back down at her crono-time piece. '_Two minutes to go._' she thought. Of course that was only true if the power cycle conduits still ran on the same frequency scrambling program they used to run on.

Trusting to fate and the Force, she reached down and activated her thruster boots. They were the best she could get on short notice but lacked severely in the area of fuel storage. Her most optimistic calculations gave her only about a minute of levitation before she would begin plummeting back to the ground. Thus she waited, warily watching the seconds tick by. With ten seconds left on her calculated countdown, she flipped the control switch and ignited the boots. Without hesitation she rocketed up along the invisible energy barrier. From experience she knew that the bounding shield angled in, following the surface of the temple below.

She reached the vent before her timer alarm went off and settled into a hover position across from it. In preparation she reached under her cloak and pulled out her right hand lightsaber, the green one, and leveled the handle toward the energy barrier. As soon as the alarm beeped she snapped it open only to have it rebound with an electric crackle. She hesitated for a second before probing the barrier again with the blade. The result was the same, a sharp rebuttal accentuated by sparks.

Ahsoka glanced down at the fuel gauge on her boots and saw them entering the red zone. She only had a few seconds left at best, barely enough time to safely return to the ground if she headed down immediately. Committing fully, she instead leveled her lightsaber once again, and brought it up to the shield again. This time it flashed through, sending waves of energy radiating outward. Instantly she leaned forward and felt a strange tingling sensation as she passed through the barrier. Her boots guttered out and she barely had time to grab hold of the ledge before the boots finally failed. Pulling herself up Ahsoka snapped off the rocket attachments and let them clank to the ground far below.

She turned her attention to the vent and the fan behind it which was idle. That made things easier. Speed was of the essence now and to save time she sliced the vent cover off with her lightsaber. She knew that whoever eventually investigated this break in would know a Jedi had done it, but who else would break into the temple. Hopping lightly through the remains of the vent cover she slid past the silent blades. She knew she had to get to the lower levels to get to the library so at the first opportunity she dropped into a vertical ventilation shaft, using her legs on the walls to slow her decent. Before long, she reached the bottom of the shaft, landing lightly on her feet.

The ventilation duct dead-ended only ten paces in front of her and, peering through a grate she saw nothing but darkness. Grasping the ledge above the vent cover she kicked the cover hard and it went skittering and clattering out of sight. Ahsoka dropped silently to the floor and snapped both lightsabers on to better illuminate the room, the irony of the red lightsaber casting its angry light cascading around the room at the heart of the Jedi temple not being lost on her. The dual lights reflected off of dead consoles, and dimly, shelves of books disappearing into the distance.

Approaching the closest console she snapped closed her red saber and punched the power switch on the console. To her relief the screen flickered on, her gamble had paid off. She pulled a scrap of paper from her pocket and entered the mystery coordinates into the computer system. A wave of nostalgia washed over her then as she realized she hadn't set foot in this room, or the temple since she'd left the Order. But before she could linger on the significance of the moment, the screen shifted and information poured out. Reaching into her pocket she produced the same data chip that had originally contained the coordinates, and placed it into the interface port.

While the data was downloading she skimmed over the information on the screen. It showed a habitable planet but one long deserted by sentient life. The economic assessment was succinct, classifying the it as financially useless. With no resources of value it was no wonder this system was unknown throughout the galaxy.

Her wrist timer beeped and she realized it was time to leave. Pocketing the data chip now that the download was completed she headed back to the vent opening. She Force leaped up into the vent and disappeared into the air handling system.

'''''

The holo-recording stopped as the hooded figure disappeared up into the venting. In the silence that followed only the sound of electronically assisted breathing remained, hypnotic in its regularity. A gloved hand rewound the display and the figure reappeared, dropping down from the vent and reseated itself at the console, all occurring faster than reality.

"What data was accessed Inspector." A deep voice droned, the breathing continuing uninterrupted.

"N-Nothing of importance, Lord Vader," the visibly frightened man stammered. "The thief just looked at data for a planet in the Tingel Arm," glancing down at a data pad he added, "in the Troxil Sector."

"Are you telling me they broke into the Jedi temple, accessed the library files, and escaped without detection - all for _'nothing important_' Inspector!?"

"Lord Vader" the Inspector said, dropping his head, "Perhaps a closer look at the data will provide…" his voice trailed off in a short choking noise. The Inspector's eyes suddenly grew wide. A high pitched whistle escaped from his open mouth, the sound of a desperate man trying to breathe through a straw. Confusion ruled his face as he clawed impotently at his neck. The Inspector's face darkened, running the gamut of red, blue, and finally dark purple. By the time he had mercifully lost consciousness the Inspector had dug deep furrows in the tender flesh of his own neck.

"Lieutenant," Vader intoned flatly without so much as a glance at the second man standing in the room, "Send this data to my personal computer. Do not disappoint me." He added as he strode from the room. The Lieutenant slumped forward supporting himself on a nearby table as the door swished closed. His shoulders shook perceptibly and a small puddle of urine gathered on the floor under his immaculately shined shoes.

Darth Vader was an imposing figure and he knew it. His cybernetic limbs allowed him the freedom to choose a height he liked, and that had been just over six feet. One benefit to having mechanical extremities was that they never grew tired and further enhanced his ability to use the Force. That being said, these days he preferred to let subordinates do most of the work while he sat back and watched. His existence was pain too though, the downside of all his necessary technology.

When his master had found him on Mustafar he'd been little more than a burned husk, barely clinging to life. Only his rage had kept him alive then, his desire to tear Obi Wan apart for betraying him, slowly and as painfully as possible. His lungs had been seared to near uselessness by the heat from the scorching lava and now the only thing that kept him breathing was a series of implants that ran down his throat and into his chest. Every moment of every day was an agony of aches and sharp stabs of pain, half from his mangled nerves, half from the very equipment that propped him up. '_It's not fair that I should suffer while wretched maggots walk around uselessly healthy_' he thought bitterly. He made a point to share his suffering with at least one creature every day, enjoying how pitiful they became at the slightest provocation. It made him feel strong to see how much he could bear compared their weakness.

Another familiar stab of pain shot up from his groin. He didn't even flinch anymore at these inconveniences, letting the pain instead feed his anger, and thus his power. Besides, his mind was much too occupied with the intruder. Who could it be? The lithe movements were not those of Obi Wan unfortunately, and the silhouette was much too large to be Yoda. '_Who is still left?_' he mused.

Ranks parted wherever Vader strode, no one daring to risk his wrath. Even the smallest scrubber droids knew to steer clear if they wanted to continue functioning. His cape billowed behind him as he turned around a blind corner and came face to face with a shuffling protocol droid. Without breaking stride he used the Force to smash the unlucky droid against the bulkhead wall, leaving a pile of spare parts in his wake.

His computer core interface, specially designed to mesh with his suit, hissed open at his approach. It was spherical, the top half rising to reveal a chair heavily encrusted with wires. Taking a seat he settled back and connected the neuro-uplink ports. The display in his helmet shifted from the external sensors to the computer feed. The holo-recording was placed at the top of the file structure and he opened it once more. Its time stamp showed the recording had been made three days ago. '_Incompetent fools!´ _he thought, desiring to crush the lot of them for taking so long to notice the intrusion.

Vader ran the recording forward to the instant the vent hatch had popped open and the stranger had dropped lightly to the floor. Whoever it was had used two lightsabers to illuminate their path, but the antiquated surveillance system in the temple did not display color so he had no further clues there. He paused the playback as the stranger turned to face the library computer station, zooming in on the image. The lighting was simply too poor, even when the monitor had turned on, to discern any facial features. Vader split the screen now, one half displaying the holo-recording, the other half displaying the data that had been accessed. A three dimensional representation of Xycor III rotated slowly on its axis as the details of its mass, gravity, atmosphere, and other descriptive specifics scrolled by. '_What do you want with this barren rock,_' he thought, further scanning the information listed.

The holo-recording caught his eye again and he paused it, leaving the intruder hanging halfway out of the chair. What caught his attention was the data chip in the stranger's hand. For the first time it was clearly visible in the light of the blank library computer screen. He panned the image and rotated it to get the best view, zooming in as close as he could.

"Analyze." He stated, highlighting the data chip in the display. His breathing increasing ever so slightly as a matrix formed over the image and extrapolated the object. In a moment a matching record popped up on top of the recording. Accompanying the digital image were the words: "_Gando Corp digital data storage chip model 3451.1A. Favored by black market traders for their quick upload and download speeds and for their incredible stability and lack of data degradation even under extreme conditions._" In an instant he knew where he'd seen a chip like this before.

"Daggo." It almost sounded like a curse.

Vader disconnected his interface and stood abruptly. "Get Admiral Tarkin." He said to a waiting orderly who immediately departed. "We're going to the Troxil Sector."


	4. Chapter 4

On the outskirts of the galaxy, Zass's space barge was going through the final sequence of turns before entering Tatooine's atmosphere. Ahsoka was itching to disembark, as nice as Zass had been to her his ceaseless singing was making her more than a bit crazy. And it was constant whenever they were underway. He had explained to her in great detail how it was good fortune to sing in hyperspace in order to keep the engines happy. '_These must be the happiest damned engines in the universe_.' She mused thinking of how much Zass sang to them. But the singing had gloriously ceased about an hour ago when they had dropped out of hyperspace and joined the queue of ships docking at Bestine.

"My lady, must you depart so soon?" Zass called after Ahsoka as she clanked down the gangplank.

"For the last time yes," she said, adding "and stop calling me 'My lady'. I'm definitely _not_ a lady."

"But we make such a great team! Together we could make a fortune." He said it as though it would be tempting to her, rubbing two fingers of the same hand together.

"Goodbye Zass." She smiled briefly at him. "I wish you the best of luck." And with that she turned and disappeared as quickly as she could into the milling crowd.

Ahsoka made her way through the markets and headed straight for the industrial cargo piers where the Remnant would still be safely kept in quarantine. She could hardly wait to get back aboard and change her clothes. Having had only two changes to wear for the duration of the voyage, while typical for most freighters and their crew, seemed a harsh punishment indeed to her. Nearing the hangars, she reached down and activated her wrist communicator. A few seconds ticked by before she heard the familiar chirp of R4 on the other end.

"Glad to hear you too." She replied. "Cut the power to the thermic power generators".

When they had first touched down nearly a month ago she had rerouted the generator exhaust out through the weapons capacitor manifolds. The result was what looked on all but the most sophisticated sensors to be a radiation leak. It was a trick she'd picked up on accident when first trying to install the experimental hyperdrive and had mistakenly connected the wrong conduits.

As she rounded a corner and approached the service kiosk she was greeted by the angry cries of a Wookie echoing sharply off of the nearby buildings. He was pounding his fists on the reception table, leaving indentations that grew each time he connected. The portly man sitting behind the slowly disintegrating desk was sweating profusely and looked as if he wanted to run away.

"Please!" he screeched, "You know I'd release your ship if there was any way I could." He cowered lower into his seat, if that was even possible. The Wookie growled a low rumbling retort that she couldn't make out and with a final smash of his fist, turned and stormed away.

Ahsoka let the dust settle a moment before she approached the barely recovering man. He glanced up at her, wary of what new danger might suddenly have appeared in front of him, but she gave him her winningest smile and he relaxed ever so slightly.

"Well now," he said, returning a hopelessly mixed jumble of papers back onto the desk, "What can I do for you?"

"I'm here to claim my ship from quarantine," she replied, handing him the registration card she'd been issued.

"Let me see." He puffed mightily as he clunked a small display screen back onto the table from where it had been dislodged. Ahsoka was amused to see it sit askew in one of the divots the Wookie had left behind. "Let me see." He repeated tapping the screen. "Ah. You have impeccable timing my dear. It looks like your ship's radiation output dropped to safe levels just a few minutes ago."

"Is that so?" she smiled.

After negotiating a further, and much smaller bribe this time, she found herself standing at the edge of the hangar bay as the quarantine hemisphere split open and the Remnant gradually appeared. A cursory inspection showed that no one had bothered her while she'd been in storage. '_Good,_' she thought pressing the cargo door release button. She hopped onto the ramp before it even hit the ground.

"Get us off this rock!" she called out to R4 as the ramp closed behind her. Dumping her solitary bag into her cabin, she headed up to the bridge.

"That's better." She said dropping heavily into her chair. "I missed you girl." She ran a hand gently over the display console and steering controls. R4 buzzed a remark about how she never seemed missed him.

"Not true my friend." She replied. "My recent foray has reminded me of just what a good co-pilot you make." She could still hear Zass's singing in her head and she cringed. Pulling up the nav computer, she punched in a few numbers, paused thinking, then finished the sequence.

"Plot us a course to these coordinates once we've cleared orbit." She said to R4 as they rose above the city. Looking down through the thin clouds she realized there was nothing about this dusty world that made her wish to return. As they broke orbit she could still see the line of freighters disappearing down toward the horizon, each waiting its turn for a berth. R4 brought her back with a series of beeps.

"I know the computer says there is nothing there." A hint of annoyance in her voice. "Just trust me on this one."

R4 beeped his resignation and returned to his calculations.

''''''

Xynoc, the star, was an ancient thing, much increased in size and well into its red giant phase. '_Another million years and most of the planets in this system won't even exist'_ Ahsoka thought morbidly. At the far edge of the system she had put the sensor array into manual refresh and let the computer run a full spectum scan. Seven planets popped up, four were gas giants while the other three were rocky. The innermost planet was molten, zipping recklessly around its host star at an intense clip. '_That one could collapse into the star any day now_' she realized, looking at the telemetry.

She focused in on Xynoc III now, the only habitable planet of any of them. Though the library information from the temple was well out of date, it appeared little had changed since the last survey had been conducted. As the Remnant cruised past Xynoc IV, the largest of the gas giants, Ahsoka was finally able to take detailed scans. The atmosphere was a bit thin, only thirteen percent oxygen, which pointed to a lack of primary production from plants. She scrolled further down the scan results noting that the few remaining oceans were highly acidic. Only the hardiest life would still survive here now.

As they entered orbit around Xynoc III, R4 beeped and chirped a long series of notes.

"You're right." She said looking at the readout. R4 had pointed out that there were a number of ruins dotting the surface of the planet. She pulled up a visual on the main display screen and was disappointed to see hardly anything remained of the population centers. There were no power signatures registering on the screen either. Reclining in her seat, she drummed a rapid beat with her fingertips.

"Pull up the thermal scan." She said finally, leaning forward. R4 squawked acknowledgement and spun his interface accordingly. Five hotspots displayed on the monitor. Cross referencing the geological data Ahsoka eliminated four of them as highly active volcanos, but the fifth thermal hotspot resided far from the expected geological patterns, directly beneath an extensive set of ruins. She stamped her finger down on the screen.

"That's where we're going."

They landed the Remnant in what remained of a grand plaza where half remaining pillars tilted lazily on top of one another in a roughly circular patter around the edges. A partially visible mosaic could be seen spreading below the Remnant, its faded reds and blues disappearing underneath scattered piles of collapsed masonry. Once again Ahsoka descended the cargo ramp alone, pausing only at the foot to survey the scene. R4 chirped at her from the top of the ramp.

"Yes you can close the hatch." She replied sardonically, amused that the droid should possess such an intense sense of self preservation. As she thought about it, she realized pretty much all R-series droids she'd ever interacted with had had the same tendency.

As the ramp creaked closed behind her, clunking into its locked position with a blast of steam, she carefully surveyed the nearby ruins. Now that the cargo ramp was closed R4 powered down the Remnant's engines and silence reigned about her as it had for thousands of years.

The immediate vicinity showed no signs of advanced technology or refined materials, only highly worn monoliths. She picked her way slowly around the plaza, making a single complete rotation, but found nothing of interest. In every direction she looked she saw crumbling buildings, not one still standing intact. There was simply nothing here of value that she could see.

She'd followed the trail from Daggo through Coruscant, all the way here, but she was at a loss. '_I have to be missing something_' she thought, turning in a deliberate circle once more. Focusing on the last fully upright pillar, she Force jumped to the top in a single leap, a distance of at least forty feet. From up here she had a wide view of the surrounding area and finally something caught her eye. One of the ruined structures in the distance appeared to be mostly intact. From her perch she could not make out much, but decided to investigate further.

Arms outstretched Ahsoka launched herself head first from the pillar. Halfway down she tucked and performed a forward flip coming to land lightly on the topmost stones of a nearby pile of debris. Stepping off easily, she began carefully working her way in the general direction of the building she'd seen. As she travelled, she marveled at what once must have been a beautiful city. The avenue she was currently making her way down was made from huge tiles that looked to have been hand cut, each one having a different etching carved into it. They were worn heavily though, whether by years of exposure or the tramp of thousands of feet she couldn't tell. Regardless, the workmanship was phenomenal where it could still be seen.

As she rounded a tall pile of stones that had once been the façade of a building, her destination swung into view. It must have been a palace or perhaps a temple. At bare minimum it was an important location as all the nearby streets seemed to intersect at it. The avenue she was on led up to its main entrance and was lined with two long rows of pedestals that looked at one time to have held statues.

The building itself was roughly a cube, the top jutting outward to be supported by six massive pillars then tapering to a pyramid above. The walls were mostly bare stone, but on one spot a decent amount of plaster could be seen, polished to a stunning sheen. She surmised that the whole building had once been covered similarly, and had probably been quite beautiful to behold. At the base of all this a set of wide stairs ran nearly the width of the building, leading up to a massive archway. '_Temple'_ she thought, '_definitely has the feel of a temple'_.

Completing her cursory survey, Ahsoka started down the street, walking quickly between the pedestals. As she neared the end of the road and approached the stairs she noticed that the last four of the pedestals, two on either side, still held sculptures. They were of gigantic humanoids, incredibly muscled creatures that each had four arms. They all appeared to have been carved out of a single block of pure white marble, the details incredible. She reached out and touched the closest one, again marveling at the craftsmanship. Each was in the same pose, down on one knee facing the temple, head bowed as if meditating. She did not recognize the species and wondered if they were what the original inhabitants of the planet had looked like.

She left the statues and stepped on to the lowest stair leading up to the face of the temple. A glint caught her eye as she moved and she looked down. Thick veins of a highly reflective mineral ran throughout the stone that made up the steps, creating a dazzling display as she ascended them. Reaching the landing, she traced the pillars upward with her eyes to where they intersected with the roof eighty feet above her. They looked stable enough, which gave her some comfort now that she stood below them.

The place was much larger up close than it had first appeared. Looking back down from the roof, she inspected the archway in the center of the main wall that looked like it led into the temple. Ornate serpentine carvings twined around the outer edge, remarkably well preserved compared to the surrounding destruction of the city.

Ahsoka walked toward the entrance and saw that inside the path was blocked by what appeared to be a solid slab of dark stone running floor to ceiling. As she approached it she could sense waves of Force energy radiating outward, strengthening with every step. '_This must be the right place.'_ she thought. Standing before the slab she studied it intently. There were no visible cracks or signs of wear on its surface. Reaching out her hand she laid the tips of her fingers against its surface and suddenly felt a rush of energy exit her body into the stone. Where her fingers rested, the stone suddenly went opaque in a slowly expanding circle.

Her fingers felt like ice and she quickly snatched them back. The solid black of the stone returned immediately. The Force was strong here, she sensed that clearly now, strong and old. She was preparing to touch the doorway again when she heard a grating thud from behind her. Whirling around she half expected to see that some further section of the city was collapsing, but was stunned to instead see that the four kneeling figures had risen and were climbing off of their pedestals.

She walked back to the topmost step, watching to see what these literal giants would do next. Each of the four turned in unison and looked up at Ahsoka standing on the landing. Their eyes were open now, the only thing different from their bodies of what she had assumed was pure white stone. These glowed yellow, easily visible though it was the middle of the day. They stood perfectly still, statues again but for their eyes and a faint hum that could be heard emanating from them. It sounded eerily similar to that of a lightsaber.

Taking a hesitant step toward the quartet, she spread her hands out in a gesture of peace and said, "Greetings friends." She was about to continue when the stone giants lurched to life again, striding up onto the steps. Ahsoka halted, now halfway down the steps herself, unsure of the intentions of the swiftly approaching group. They moved methodically in labored, heavy strides, covering multiple stairs in each bound.

The lead giant reached down and scooped up a large chunk of fallen masonry and flung it with amazing speed and accuracy right at Ahsoka. Using the Force she leapt out of the way, no longer uncertain of their intent. They were here to make sure she didn't enter the temple. She skidded down the steps, angling away from her pursuers. Fortunately for her, their mass made their turning somewhat clumsy and slow. Reaching to her belt she snapped open both her lightsabers and stood at bay back on the street level. Having completed their turn, the guards, for that was surely what they must be, now began descending toward her new position. Any hope she had that the sight of her lightsabers would have deterred them vanished. '_Oh well_' she thought, '_looks like I'll have to do this the hard way_.'

Charging the first giant she dodged under the huge swing he took with his lower set of arms, trailing her lightsabers so as to cut the legs from beneath him. She was staggered however when, to her immense confusion, the blades bounced violently off of the creatures legs leaving them undamaged. Her hesitation almost proved fatal as, while the first set of arms had missed, the giant had been queuing up his second set for a follow up strike.

The balled up fist of a hand smashed into the flagstones where Ahsoka had just been crouching an instant before, pulverizing it into broken shards. Wheeling backward in a series of handsprings, Ahsoka gained some much needed space. Stopping a few yards away she stared down in disbelief at her twin sabers. Only once had she ever heard of a time when a lightsaber was unable to penetrate the hide of an unarmed foe, and that had been the monstrous, and now extinct, Zillo Beast from Malastare. These seemed to be something different altogether, as if designed specifically to keep out those who wielded the Force.

As confirmation, she Force threw her red lightsaber at the still approaching giants, but it simply bounced off with a loud crackling noise. Pulling her it back to her free hand she snapped it closed, leaving only her green saber humming in her right hand. This she used to slice apart the incoming rubble that the furthest giant, still on the stairs, had hurled at her. Taking a cue from her assailants, she lifted a nearby chunk of rubble with the Force and hurled it back at the giant on the steps. The flying stone gained decent speed as it zipped through the air, smashing directly into the chest of the stone giant. Without hesitation it continued plodding toward Ahsoka.

"Well that didn't work." She said aloud, pondering options as she continued to retreat. She could always return to the ship and leave, but there was something important here and she wanted to know what it was. She briefly considered returning to the Remnant and flying it over to bombard the giants with the plasma canon, but decided against it realizing that if the lightsabers were ineffective, the plasma canons would probably be useless as well. She came up with a different strategy and decided to lure the giants away from the temple.

Continuing to dodge incoming projectiles, sometimes slicing them with her lightsaber, sometimes flinging them aside with the Force, she drew the group steadily away from the stairs. When she was confident that they were far enough away she Force leapt into the air, somersaulting over the closest of the giants, and landed on a vacant pedestal. Sprinting, she leapt from pedestal to pedestal along the neatly arranged row, quickly bypassing all four of her antagonists. At the bottom of the stairs she made a long Force leap and alit easily on the landing once again. She trotted quickly over to the archway and approached the jet black slab.

'_If I can't beat them, perhaps I can leave them behind,_' she thought, snapping closed her remaining lightsaber and extending her hand. She touched the surface again, but this time nothing happened. No rush of energy, no feeling of cold, just the cool solidness of the slab staring back at her.

"You've got to be kidding me!" An expletive was forming on her lips but was cut off by the abrupt arrival of a boulder exploding into the slab an inch from her head. She flinched back reflexively, leaning on the archway wall. As she did her hand came to rest on an oddly uneven surface, and when she looked up she noticed for the first time that a carved relief was there. Opening her green lightsaber once more for both protection and light, she examined the artwork. It was broken into multiple panels, each one telling a different part of a narrative.

Glancing to the opposite side of the archway she saw that the story continued, or perhaps started, on the other side as well. The panel in front of her depicted a group of familiar four-armed creatures crushing a multitude under their feet and in their hands. She moved to the next panel and saw a different unfamiliar creature holding a small star in its hand reflecting beams of light into the eyes of the four-armed creatures who were on their knees.

She was just moving to the third and final panel on this side of the archway when all the natural light disappeared, blotted out by the arrival of one of the giants. She spun staring at the unblinking yellow eyes. The giant, placing a ham hand onto the outside edge of the arch for support, reached in with his lower set of arms. Ahsoka swung her lightsaber down out of reflex and promptly dropped it from the vibration of the impact against the giant's ghastly white arms. Those arms closed quickly about her legs dragging her unwillingly from the alcove and, with an ankle clutched in each hand, suspended Ahsoka upside-down in front of him, their faces only inches apart.

She stared fearlessly into the glowing eyes, squinting at the brightness emanating from them. Though she could only see them in her peripheral vision, the lower set of the giant's arms spread wide, preparing to smash the life from her as she helplessly hung there.

In last second desperation Ahsoka, remembering the lone figure from the second relief panel shining light into the eyes of the carved creatures, snapped open her red lightsaber and drove it with all the strength she could muster into one of the giant's sightless eyes. Instantaneously her legs were released and she tumbled to the ground.

Rolling away she stopped in a crouching position, her lightsaber defensively angled in front of her. The giant was lurching violently, taking furtive steps backward, streams of yellow light sparking from its damaged eye. The creature clawed at its face for a moment and suddenly crumbled into dust before her eyes.

She had no time to enjoy her victory as a one of the other stone giants was striding through the newly formed pile of white dust directly toward her. Sprinting forward she slid harmlessly between its legs and launched off of the topmost step. The middle giant of the remaining three was directly in front of her and with pinpoint accuracy she rammed the tip of her red saber into its right eye, dancing away as it swung drunkenly.

Cartwheeling down the steps she approached the hindmost giant as it was picking up a fresh piece of rubble to smash her with. She waited for it to lift it ponderously above its head before she dodged in and executed a headlong dive at its face. The lifted boulder fell harmlessly to the ground as that giant too crumbled away.

Turning back toward the temple Ahsoka saw the final giant still rumbling slowly toward her. She almost felt bad for a moment before realizing that the creature would gladly pulverize her into as many particles of dust as its friends now lay in. Throwing her lightsaber once more, this time at its eyes, the last giant staggered and disintegrated becoming yet another pile of white dust to disappear in the wind.

She used the Force to whip her red lightsaber back into her hand, and snapped it closed. An uneasy silence resumed in the plaza. Walking up the stairs again she found her green lightsaber laying on the landing and, brushing it off, placed both back on her belt. Dusting off her clothes she approached the solid black slab, which seemed to mock her with its unyielding nature, for a third time. The waves of Force energy had returned. Stepping up to the slab again she placed an outstretched hand on the stone and felt the icy bite on her fingers. Once more the slab began to dissolve.


	5. Chapter 5

Darth Vader paced the bridge of the Vengeance, his new flagship. It was a compact battle cruiser housing a crew of one hundred and twenty of the finest clone troopers from his personal guard.

"What are your orders, Lord Vader?" Admiral Tarkin asked inclining his head, once again looking at the pre-recorded holo-message. The three dimensional recording was that of Arc Trooper 49597, colloquially referred to as 'Scorch', a knick-name he'd picked up when the training blaster he'd been using had exploded in his face burning half the hair off of his head and leaving a distinctive scar.

Scorch had reported that a local crime boss in the Chommel Sector had had a possible sighting of a Jedi matching the description of Obi Wan Kenobi. Anger flared up and clouded Vader's vision. '_Obi Wan… Let it finally be you!'_ he thought, closing both hands into fists. The Chommel Sector was a significant detour from their current course to the Xynoc system, but even the faintest chance of finding Obi Wan was too much for him to ignore.

"Change course for the Chommel Sector Admiral."

Tarkin knew better than to question Lord Vader when it came to the subject of former General Kenobi. In his experience there was nothing more important for Lord Vader than to find Obi Wan Kenobi, alive, and to take him prisoner at any cost.

It had been years since any rumor of the Jedi master had surfaced. That had been when he was on patrol in Bothan space pursuing a particularly elusive group of refugees when, during a landing attempt, the entire squad of troopers had been decimated by a lone man wielding a lightsaber. That man had been none other than General Kenobi.

"As you command, Lord Vader" Tarkin replied. "Perhaps we should send a commando unit ahead to Xynoc III while we pursue Master Kenobi?" The suggestion met a wall of silence.

"Do as you see fit, Admiral." Lord Vader finally responded, preoccupied with thoughts of capturing Obi Wan.

Tarkin turned and strode from the bridge, despising the weakness that Vader showed in his uncontrolled hatred for Kenobi. This very same passion had on numerous occasions led to significant losses of the Empire's resources. He was still pondering how he was going to minimize the inevitable carnage that this ensuing chase would bring when he stepped into the Clone barrack command center.

Three clones were sitting around a holo-display intensely competing in a game of reaction and strategy. The clone facing the doorway Tarkin had just entered through immediately stood and saluted, followed closely by the other two.

"Captain," Tarkin said, barely concealing his disdain of clones. "Have your best Imperial Commando unit ready to depart in twenty minutes."

''''''

Fifteen minutes later Imperial Commando Unit Four was in the hangar bay prepped and ready to depart. Captain Trigger inspected his team, ensuring every flap, button, and snap was in order. Trigger, a shortening of his original call sign of 'Trigger-Happy', had been a member of the original Imperial Commando Squad 40. Through his dedication and unquestioning resolve, he had distinguished himself from his brothers and had been granted command of one of the first expanded tactical units to be created. His squad was made up of four hand-picked soldiers including himself. They were the best of the best when they had joined and were now further drilled to perfection.

"Sparks!" he called out and the trooper closest to him snapped a salute. "Get onboard that bucket and prime the launch sequence."

"Yes sir!" Sparks replied, stowing his pack and hustling up into the pilot's seat of the waiting Lambda-class T-4a transport. Sparks was the best pilot and engineer Trigger had ever served with, and he'd served with plenty. He wasn't the best shot with a blaster, but he could hack into a computer in half the time of anyone else, all while flying through an asteroid field under heavy fire. Pecs and Fodder made up the rest of his crew. Pecs served as the recon and sniping specialist while Fodder could make things explode just by looking at them, or so it seemed.

Each of them was a killing machine in their own right, and with their relentless training and perfect success rate, they had become something of a myth among the rank and file soldiers. Even now Trigger could see the deck hands glancing sidelong at them as they continued to load their supplies onboard.

Looking down at his data pad, he confirmed receipt of the weapons and gear.

"Let's move out!" he called, loud enough for everyone in the hangar to hear. The three of them double timed it up the ramp and closed it behind them. Trigger took the co-pilot's seat next to Sparks, depressing the ship to ship communications button.

"This is Imperial Commando Unit Four to the Vengeance, we are clear for departure at your signal."

"Rodger that, Unit Four," came the audio response. "Standby for confirmation."

The Vengeance slid out of hyperspace in the inky blackness between star systems, her hangar bay doors creeping open.

"You are clear for departure Unit Four," the audio crackled back on.

Sparks maneuvered the ship out through the atmospheric shielding of the hangar doors and into the launch way. The access doors were already beginning to close before they cleared the ship and motored to a safe distance. Without a word, the Vengeance spooled her hyperdrive and vanished in a streaking flash of light.

Trigger looked once more at the data pad with their orders on it. They read: 'Proceed to planet Xynoc III at the provided coordinates and scout for any valuable resources or information. Conduct reconnaissance and attempt to locate unknown Jedi thief who may be in the area. Apprehend if possible, lethal force is authorized. Report all progress directly to Admiral Tarkin onboard the Vengeance.'

Trigger reached down and punched the coordinates into the nav computer. "Let's get the hell out of here."

Sparks confirmed the coordinates on his monitor and firmly grabbed the hyperdrive control in his right hand. "I hope you lazy bastards are buckled up back there!" he called back to where Pecs and Fodder were still stowing the supplies. Without waiting for a response he threw the throttle forward and their ship slipped gently into hyperspace. These newer vessels were much smoother than the old transports that the vast majority of troopers still had to ride in.

"You just scared the hell out of me!" Fodder called from the back. "Thought I was going to be peeling myself off of the aft cargo hatch."

Trigger ignored the continued banter, enjoying the camaraderie that existed between his men. He'd fostered these bonds believing that the closer knit the group became the stronger it would be in combat. This had proven true so far.

He turned back to his pad and began researching everything he could learn about the planet they were heading toward. There was not much to know beyond the physical characteristics however. There were no reports of local flora or fauna, and no details on climate either. The one report that did exist seemed to have been written by an advanced mining surveyor some 16,000 years ago. His summary was succinct stating that the planet was devoid of useful resources and, due to its remote location, unsuited for use as a way station. Further exploration for establishing a hyperspace route had been not advised. And that was it, all the information available.

"Alright you two" he called back to the hold, effectively silencing the chatter. "Get up here for a debriefing."

Fodder stepped into the cockpit first taking a seat at the navigator's station, spinning the chair to face forward. While all clones looked basically the same, each had the ability to personalize himself with different hairstyles and tattoos. This made for a surprising array of options to distinguish oneself and Fodder was no exception. He wore a thick handlebar mustache on his face and a completely shaven head. "Keeps me from burning any of it off deploying explosives." He'd laughingly told Trigger not long after they had first met. Each of his forearms were peppered with rows of short, neat tattoo lines. Each one represented a confirmed single kill he'd made. Fodder was meticulous in tracking his single kills, and wouldn't record one unless he was absolutely certain that he'd done so without any outside assistance. Trigger figured the already numerous tick marks could probably correctly be doubled.

Pecs brought up the rear. He'd received his name because any moment he wasn't actively deployed or training with his sniper rifle, he could be found in the gym lifting weights. He'd gained so much muscle mass that he'd had to be issued a specially made armored suit as the standard one didn't fit him any longer. He now leaned against the door jamb, muscled arms across his chest.

"Okay men," Trigger began. "Here's the deal. We're basically flying in blind. We have a relatively unknown planet with a Type I breathable atmosphere, no information on hazardous flora or fauna, so keep your eyes peeled."

Trigger paused to look down at his pad once again. He linked the data port to the ship's holo-display and brought up the recording from the Jedi library's surveillance system.

"Our orders are basic recon with the added twist of a rogue Jedi." He played the recording for them. "Not much to go on, but that is our target. Apprehend if possible, lethal force if necessary." He paused and shut down the display. Rotating toward his crew he continued.

"We've all dealt with Jedi before and know how tough and slippery the bastards can be, doubly so when capture is the goal. Watch each other's backs out there and we can all get back in one piece." He turned to Sparks again and asked, "What's our ETA?"

"Two hours and fifteen minutes, sir."

"Alright, settle in and get some rack time if you need it. I want no mistakes out there today."

'''''

Ahsoka stood just inside where the black slab had been. When it had finished its transformation, turning completely opaque from floor to ceiling, the slab had dissolved into thin air, leaving no hint that it had ever existed. She was baffled by this technology, having never seen anything like it before.

Past the doorway she found herself standing in a room filled with an amazing amount of light given that the surrounding walls were solid rock. Looking up she noticed that the light was slicing down in long shafts, highlighted by drifting dust particles, from windows cut into the roof far above. All of the shafts were aimed, though she didn't know how, at a towering figure in the center of the room. "_Not another statue…_' she thought wryly, taking another hesitant step into the chamber.

The statue resided in a depression at the center of the room, four sets of steps descending to it from the four sides of the temple. All around the statue in radiating quadrants rows of curved stone benches were placed. The statue itself was made out of a silver-looking metal and depicted a standing humanoid, one arm outstretched above its upturned face. Lancing straight up from the raised arm was what had to be a carved representation of a lightsaber, pointed directly toward the tip of the pyramid above it. The combination of the light and the pose made the figure appear quite heroic.

Ahsoka stepped to the top of the stair leading in from the main entrance of the temple. Looking down she was stunned at how much dust had accumulated on the floor. It was obvious that no one had been here in ages. Looking back to the entrance her footprints were clearly visible in the otherwise undisturbed layers of countless centuries.

She turned back to the statue once more, understandably paranoid that it would come to life at any moment and try to kill her, but it remained exactly as it had been since she'd set eyes on it and, for all she knew, as it had been for the last twenty thousand years. It stood on a low, square pedestal, about fifteen feet on each side. With a start, she suddenly noticed a hooded figure seated on the floor at the foot of the pedestal, facing away from the statue.

"Hello?" she called out tentatively.

She stepped onto the first step and stopped again. Everything in the room remained silent. She repeated her greeting but if the figure heard her it did not make a move or signal. She continued down the steps, slowly, observing the stone benches as she passed them. Each was the same as the others with no adornment or cushioning. Reaching the circular landing that skirted the statue's pedestal Ahsoka now stood directly in front of the seated figure.

The hood was pulled down so far that, in the intense shafts of light, the figure's face was completely obscured. From this distance she could clearly see the it was covered in the same layer of dust that coated everything here. Whoever was seated there must have been dead a long time she realized, the last vigilant of a long forgotten ceremony. She was nearly overwhelmed by the strength of the Force here, emanating from either the seated individual, or the statue behind them.

Ahsoka lowered herself to the floor, crossing her legs beneath her, an intense need rising up in her to honor the creature who had died at its post, so long ago. She didn't grasp the significance of the sacrifice, but it seemed obvious that a large one had been made here.

As she sat her vision suddenly shifted, a strange vibration blurring the edges of all that she saw. Shadowy people roamed the room about her, sitting orderly in the surrounding benches. She could not make out their forms, hard as she tried, and the more she focused the more they seemed to blur out of clarity.

An animated discussion on the landing in front of her between two shadows caught her attention. There were no sounds to go along with the argument, but the stamping feet and waving arms showed it for what it was. One of the figures stormed out, passing directly through her, and she noticed the rest of the etherial figures departing along with it. The lone remaining shadow stood staring after them for a long moment, then turned and walked to where the hooded figure still sat. The shadow turned, and lowered itself down, disappearing into the seated figure.

The hazy edges faded and reality rushed back to her. She looked at the figure across from her in a new light, knowing that whoever it was they had made the ultimate sacrifice. '_But what for?'_ she thought peering into the void under the hood. She looked at the floor directly in front of the figure, where it appeared to be looking and noticed a slight variation in the omnipresent dust.

Standing again, she walked forward, giving a wide berth to the discoloration, coming to stand beside the seated figure. She could clearly see now that some form of writing was etched into stone of the floor. They were unlike anything she'd ever seen and conveyed no meaning to her. She lowered herself, kneeling this time, beside the figure and concentrated.

For a long moment nothing changed, but as she knelt she felt the energy of the room shift again, as it had when the first vision had occurred. The shadow of the figure next to her emerged again and was making motions above the floor where the writing was. '_He carved it there by hand.' _She realized instantly, '_a message to the future._' As she watched, the shapes changed and she could suddenly read what was written there in the stone.

'I can wait for you no longer.' It started. She followed the shadowy hand as it moved. 'The power within is dangerous and should have been destroyed long ago. That was our folly. Succeed where I could not.' The shadowy hand paused before moving on to a separate set of lines. 'In truth's light the veil is removed, the warrior's blade the key to fate.'

The shadowy arm retreated and once again the world's edges regained their focus. The carved words again held no meaning as she stared down at them, but the message rang true in her mind. Something powerful and dangerous was kept here.

'''''""

At the far edge of the Xynoc system a flash of light broke the canopy of blackness and a lone transport ship appeared. Trigger still sat in the co-pilot's seat next to Sparks as their Lambda began maneuvering toward the inner planets.

"We've arrived!" he called back to the main cabin without turning. More than likely Pecs and Fodder had awakened as soon as they had dropped out of hyperspace, but being thorough was in his nature. Leaving even the smallest details to chance could be the difference between life and death on the battlefield.

"Get the gear ready. We'll be touching down in under thirty."

As soon as they were in sensor range he ran a full spectrum analysis. Almost immediately the notification system pinged at a location in the northern hemisphere. A single ship with nominal power readings was parked on the planet surface in what looked to be an extensive set of ruins. Flipping an additional switch Trigger engaged the life signs scanner. The full scan came back negative. He ran it again and received the same result. '_Lone pilot died while exploring the ruins?'_ he thought, but pushed that quickly aside. '_Perhaps some sort of life sign shielding.'_ It seemed unlikely, but he knew better than to rule out the possibility.

Focusing on the ship he ran a detailed scan. The computer readout displayed nonsense. He tried again with the same result. '_Scan jammers_' he thought. Whoever's ship was down there was well equipped.

"Okay Sparks, that's got to be our target," he said laying a finger on the map readout. "Can you get us in undetected?"

"Most of the way sir, but once we enter the atmosphere we'll light up any screen in the area."

"Do the best you can." He said rising out of his seat. "Put us down as close to that ship as you can, but watch out for defensive systems as we approach."

Moving through the containers that the deckhands had loaded into the cargo storage area, Trigger walked from one to the next until he located the crate he wanted. Grasping the latches he popped the pressurized top open and threw back the lid. Inside was a custom cut foam container that housed his heavily modified BlasTech E-11. Besides the standard compliment of clips containing his pulse ammunition, he had sections for grenade, darts, and flares.

Along the sides of the case he had places for his integrated attachments. These could be removed or added in the blink of an eye depending on what a situation might require. Pulling the grenade launcher tube from its slot he slid it into place, a satisfying 'click' notified him when it locked in place. Grabbing two grenade clips, he attached them to his belt as well. Flipping open a lower level of the crate he looked over his additional attachments. He passed over the silencer and grabbed the laser scope with attached heads up display scanner. This he twisted into place atop his rifle.

Lastly he pulled out the most rare of his modifications. It was a cylinder that slid over the entire barrel of his rifle and had a lead wire that ran back along the rest of the side of the rifle housing. He snapped it in place and grabbed a power pack from a slot in the corner of the crate. Flipping the lid back closed he plugged the lead wire into the power supply and attached the it to his tactical backpack. With a grunt he shouldered everything and clipped the chest snaps closed.

Turning to Pecs he leveled his rifle and flipped the lead wire switch on. Bright pink electricity arced to life along the rifle barrel, crackling rhythmically.

"Damn Captain," Pecs said staring down the barrel of Trigger's rifle. "You think you'll actually need that?"

"I'd rather be prepared and not end up using it," he said lowering the rifle, "than wishing I had it on me when I need it."

The attachment was an adaptation of an electrostaff, a specialized weapon that utilized the same energy source as lightsabers and thus could repel a direct lightsaber strike. He'd never needed it yet and didn't want to find out how many direct strikes it could take, but in close combat with a Jedi it would give him a fighting chance. Pecs shrugged and resumed prepping his own gear. From the cockpit Sparks yelled, "Hold on to something, we're entering the atmosphere!"

Below on the planet an alarm went off in the Remnant. R4 squawked and rolled over to his interface, rotating it as he studied the readout. Streaking toward their position was a Lambda class Imperial transport vessel. R4 activated the comms and called out to Ahsoka. There was no response so he repeated his ovation. Still nothing. Confused he spun his interface and activated the life signs sensor array. In a moment the readout returned negative. R4 let out a sad sounding chirping noise and rolled back away from his station. His orders had been to wait and that was what he was going to do.

''''''''

Inside the temple Ahsoka stared at the floor once more. The characters meant nothing visually to her, but she could still picture the seated figure carving them carefully into the solid stone. The message was important, but what did it mean. "In truth's light the veil is removed," she said aloud hoping that verbalizing it would bring some epiphany, "the warrior's blade the key to fate." Nothing happened.

She stood again and as she did, to her absolute horror, the seated figure slowly disintegrated into a pile of dust before her eyes, cloak and all.

Ahsoka was mortified. Had she somehow brushed the figure or caused some vibration? How long had he sat there waiting to deliver his message she wondered? She felt ill, but after a few moments had passed another thought popped into her head. Could she be the intended recipient of his message? Now that his long wait was over had whatever residual energy that remained here faded back to finally rejoin the Force? Those thoughts consoled her slightly so she chose to believe them rather than focus on the darker possibility that she had randomly destroyed something irreplacable.

She turned and looked up at the statue, standing directly above her. From her vantage point nearly directly below it she could now see that there was a small square in the ceiling above the statue made from the same silvery metal. "_The warrior's blade is the key._' She thought looking at the lightsaber in the statues hand. '_It must be a riddle,_' she decided tilting her head back up to the ceiling.

"He's got to be the warrior," she said aloud to no one in particular. She focused on the lightsaber in his hand, wondering if it would come loose. It was much too large to wield though as the statue stood about thirty feet tall, the lightsaber portion extending at least another ten feet toward the ceiling. _'Not the lightsaber itself_,' she decided, '_but what then?_'

The first part of the riddle came to her then. '_In truth's light…_ _light!'_ She looked again at the shafts of lights descending from the ceiling and saw giant mirrors positioned at the lower opening of each. This was how the light was all being reflected toward the base of the statue.

She had an idea and, moving to stand on the lowest circular stone bench she reached out with the Force and gently grasped the mirror in the opening above her. It resisted at first, millennia of disuse affecting its motion, but eventually with a metallic screech it shifted, moving the beam of light with it. Ahsoka kept twisting it until the beam fell directly onto the upraised statue's saber.

It was a perfect alignment and the metal of the blade lit up slightly. She moved over to the next bench to her right and repeated the motion, this time more confident. The mirror in this shaft moved easier than the last, almost as if it expected the action. A second shaft of light fell onto the upraised blade. She continued her pattern around the statue, this time reaching out to the two remaining mirrors at the same time, twisting them both so that their beams came to rest on the statue's saber.

For a moment all was silent, the metallic blade illuminating the room with its newly reflected light. Then a faint blue glow began radiating outward from the statue, first a haze, then a clearly visible emanation. It travelled upward gathering along the blade lighting it up. From her vantage point the warrior suddenly seemed to be wielding a ten foot long blue lightsaber. It was a stunning sight to behold, but in an instant the light shot away upward and struck the metal square in the ceiling and dissipated.

With a low rumbling, the statue grated backwards on its pedestal, away from the doorway where Ahsoka had entered. Where it had been standing a dark stairway now descended.

'''''''

Sparks had just activated the landing thrusters when a violent bolt of blue light shot straight up into the atmosphere from a nearby section of the ruins.

"You see that Captain!" he asked not taking his eyes off of the landing site now that they were in final approach.

"What the hell was that?" said Fodder who had seen it also.

"Let's keep the chatter down for now." Trigger said, not wanting speculation to get out of hand. He had no idea what it was, but figured they'd find out soon enough.

The transport settled swiftly down onto the plaza adjacent to the Remnant. Sparks cut the throttle and flipped the switches to power down the engines.

"All right boys," Trigger said as the crew gathered around him. "Let's do this by the book."

Pecs hit the cargo door release switch and the ramp deployed. The team took up a cover formation and scanned the plaza, rifles leveled. Nothing moved. Five seconds ticked by, then ten. Finally Trigger flicked a hand forward, two fingers extended. Immediately Sparks and Fodder descended the ramp, heads and rifles on a swivel. They took up defensive positions near the foot of the ramp behind large chunks of rubble.

Another five seconds went by and then Sparks returned the hand signal and Trigger and Pecs followed. They fanned out now, a well-oiled and silent machine, securing the plaza to their satisfaction. They had paid particular attention to the Remnant, always staying out of the line of fire of its plasma canons, but nothing stirred onboard. Trigger pulled up his short range scanner and confirmed that no life signs we onboard. _'Nothing organic is onboard, I'll guarantee that_.' He thought, replacing the scanner to its slot on his belt. Confident that the area was sufficiently secured he signaled the team to regroup.

"The light we saw during entry was about two clicks west of here." He said checking his topographical readout. "Let's make tracks there and do some recon." Silent affirmations greeted his gaze. "Let's move out!"

The team fanned out again, moving in synchronous pairs, two advancing while the other two covered, and vice versa. It was slower going than a simple march through the rubble, but they all knew this was better from experience. Before long they had covered most of the ground and came upon an elongated plaza. Two long rows of pedestals lined the avenue leading to a mostly intact large structure. A faint blue haze of light still lingered around the tip of the pyramid at its top.

"This is the place." Trigger muttered, more to himself than the team.

"What was that?" said Pecs who was advancing with him at that time.

"Nothing," he said in response. "Just keep your head down and watch for hostiles."

"Ain't nothing on this godforsaken rock." Pecs retorted, but followed orders and moved to a better defensive position. Moving methodically down the street the team regrouped at the bottom of the steps leading to the structure. A raised fist from Trigger halted them all in their tracks. Trigger surveyed the structure and decided it was sturdy enough to enter.

"Sparks." He said, looking in the commando's direction. "Establish a defensive perimeter here." He pointed to the ground they stood on. "Pecs, Fodder, and me will head up and scout the building." He motioned the other two onward. Turning back to Sparks he said, "No one but us comes out of there, you hear me?"

"Yessir!" he replied, a knowing look in his eyes. Satisfied that their retreat was covered, Trigger moved up the steps to join his comrades on the landing. Fodder and Pecs had taken up positions on either side of the doorway and were awaiting his command.

"Nice and easy." He said, and with blasters leveled they edged into the structure as one.


	6. Chapter 6

Ahsoka sliced open her green lightsaber and held it above her head as she carefully descended the stairs. In the dry darkness underground the wavering shadows highlighted a small carved figure of a hooded woman leaning out from the wall, a bowl held out in both hands.

Moving in to take a closer look she held her blade over the bowl and was startled when a liquid ignited from the heat. The solitary flame was quickly followed by the sequential lighting of a row of identical figures on the side of the passage she stood on. A long pathway downwards was now partially illuminated by the burning sculptures. They were placed at regular intervals and disappeared around a bend after about a half dozen braziers.

Turning to the opposite wall she saw more figures and repeated the procedure, this time on purpose, and the other half of the wall lights burst into flame. The lamps did a more than adequate job of lighting the hallway so she returned her lightsaber to its slot on her belt and continued to descend.

At the bottom of the stairs the path made a sharp turn to the left and continued straight and level now. She counted fifty paces before the walls on either side fell away and she found herself in a large domed chamber. It was dark down here except for the circular ring of sconces burning in their wall slots. These cast disturbing shadows that danced eerily across the ceiling.

In the center of the room lay a large rectangular stone slab. It rose up to just above waist height and was jet black, looking very much like the slab that had originally barricaded the temple's entrance.

The Force energy in this room was a furnace blast in her face and she felt as if every step toward the center of the room was a labor. Despite the intensity of the room's energy, she made her way to stand over the inky blackness of the monolith. The wavering flames reflected off of its glossy surface hightlighting an intricate carving of a man adorningThe its surface, reclining as in sleep with hands folded across his chest. '_This is a sarcophagus,' _she thought as she stared down at the dark face of the man.

Hesitantly she reached out her hand and placed it on the shoulder of the carving. A familiar rush of energy and feeling of icy cold gripped her fingers once more. As she watched, the stone melted away from her touch to incrementally reveal beneath a perfectly preserved corpse, at first just the chest and head, then slowly the legs as the black stone dissipated.

As had happened with the black doorway slab, when the process was complete, the stone evaporated leaving no trace. Ahsoka stared down at the man, who looked to be no more than resting. Long locks of white hair were draped around his pale face, punctuated by dark but full lips. He appeared to be middle-aged, not too old but definitely not young either, a man in the prime of his life. Yet as she watched the skin sagged and aged in an instant. Muscle and sinew stretched and vanished leaving behind only a pale set of bones. In another heartbeat even those had settled into dust.

Sadness washed over her as she was reminded of the transient nature of life so fragile and fleeting, gone in a breath. She looked down to where the man's arms had folded across his chest and discovered sitting there now a solid black cube. She gently reached out to touch it, half expecting it to dissolve as all the other jet black stone here had, but instead her hand met solid, unyielding rock. Gingerly she plucked it from the remains and held it before her. It was unremarkable, with no trace of marking or carving on any of its surfaces.

She looked back down at what remained of the man and a twinge of guilt rocked her once more. Here she was destroying the equilibrium that had existed in this place for eons. A bit of wisdom that Obi Wan had once told her popped into her mind. '_We may never truly know the ramifications of our actions.'_ He had said it then as they were intervening on a neutral world during the Clone Wars, but it seemed to apply now especially.

Ahsoka's mind drifted then wondering just what Obi Wan might be doing now if he had survived the 'Jedi Rebellion' so many years ago. The cube in her hands flashed blue, the same color of electric energy that had illuminated the Warrior statue's lightsaber, and the world around her spun. One instant she was standing in the darkened cavern, the next she stood blinking in the blinding sunlight of a desert world. For a second she thought she was back on Hok again, but there were rocks here and a series of canyons below her.

"Where did you come from?" a familiar and startled voice asked her. She turned and was astounded to see none other than Master Obi Wan Kenobi sitting on a dusty outcrop to her side. She turned toward him and in doing so the world shifted and she saw both the darkened cavern with its guttering braziers, and the blistering sun and rocks. She looked down at Obi Wan who stared back at her in astonishment. "Ahsoka?" he said incredulously, "How is this possible? Did Master Qui Gon send you?"

She opened her mouth to respond but her confusion reigned and suddenly the cavern solidified around her. Gone was the desert and the sunlight, replaced by the cool darkness. She took an involuntary step backwards. '_Could that really have been Master Obi Wan_?' she thought hesitantly. He'd looked so tired sitting there in the desert alone. She remembered him being so strong, vibrant and full of life. She thought back to the many times they'd fought, side-by-side against the Separatists armies during the Clone Wars. And once again the walls fell away and a dense jungle appeared around her. She could still see the burning alcoves, but they were faint and at the edges of her vision.

All around her chaos ensued as Clone Troopers were advancing under heavy fire from Separatist battle droids. She watched astounded as an errant branch, whipped by a falling branch, passed straight through her. Still grasping the onyx cube firmly in one hand, she reached out with her other hand and passed it with no resistance through the trunk of a nearby tree.

"Who are you?" a familiar voice asked again. She turned to see the Obi Wan Kenobi that she had always known, the General in the midst of a battle, lightsaber in hand.

"Master Obi Wan," She said, genuinely glad to see him.

"Do I know you?" He said tentatively turning to deflect an incoming blaster shot.

"It's me, Ahsoka," she said not comprehending.

"Look out!" he called as a stream of blaster fire emanated from behind a nearby fallen log. She had been so preoccupied with the strangeness of her encounter that she had not seen the incoming fire until too late, but it passed harmlessly through her.

"I do not understand," said Obi Wan, continuing to deflect incoming fire from himself.

"Neither do I," she replied but the scene faded away leaving her back in the darkness of the vault. She looked down now at the cube in her hands and realized the visions had to be correlated with the artifact. Nothing made sense though, '_How i__s this cube related to Obi Wan_?' She turned away from the crypt and began making her way back up the hallway again. She wanted to bring the cube up to where the light was better to more properly examine it, and perhaps take it back to the Remnant where she could run some tests.

As she ascended the last of the stairs and reemerged into the temple's main chamber, her eye fell once more on the etched message and the dust that had been the messenger. '_Why did you stay here when all the others left_?' She pondered, thinking of the figure bent over the stone, carving each character so long ago.

The room shifted around her, candles springing up where none had been before. Flower arrangements appeared around the feet of the statue which now resided in its original position, covering the steps. Looking at the pedestal, she could both see the steps leading to the crypt and not see them.

"You came after all." A thin voice said from behind her. She turned and saw a bent figure rise from the words on the floor. "I'd given up hope that we would meet and have just left a message for you." He said pointing to the carved letters. He paused then, truly looking at her. "I see," he said, a knowing look in his eyes. "It was not to be after all. Strange the ways of the Force can be."

"Master Yoda?" Ahsoka said, slumping down to the floor.

The little figure paused. "I know not this 'Master Yoda' you speak of." The messenger replied. "My name is Ronai."

The resemblance to Master Yoda was uncanny, although that was offset by the fact that she'd never seen another of Yoda's species before so had no real frame of reference. She opened her mouth to speak then, but Ronai silenced her with a wave of his hand.

"I have much to say and little time to tell it to you." he said settling himself back down into his familiar seat beneath the statue. "Besides, you have used the stone and the less I know the safer it will be for all." He said folding his hands in his lap.

"The stone?"

"Yes, Master Voor'Kath's stone. It is a small black cube that radiates and focuses the Force with incredible power." He said holding his hands up to indicate its dimensions.

Ahsoka looked down to her hand and held the stone up for him to see. "Is this it?" she asked.

"I see nothing in your hand, but I would say yes, it is. The fact that we are speaking is a testament that it is so."

She shifted uneasily and the room began to fade again.

"Focus!" the small creature said, and he snapped back into clarity as she did so. "Master Voor'Kath's stone is powerful, but it requires strength and focus to make it function.

"What does it do?" she asked.

"The stone grants its user the ability to interact with the events of the past, to study, to learn, and unfortunately even to change the course of history. Master Voor'Kath spent countless years researching and creating the stone as a means to study the past." Ronai paused and looked down at the floor. "But in the end he succumbed to the temptation of its power and tried to change the past to his benefit."

There was sadness in his eyes now. "I still do not know how much he altered before I discovered his betrayal. And it was only by my own treachery that I was able to stop him." Ronai looked beyond Ahsoka saying, "It was I, his closest friend and ally, who finally brought an end to his madness."

Ronai looked up once more into Ahsoka's face. "I killed him with my lightsaber and have wielded it only within these walls since." He pointed below the statue. "I buried him there and now his body guards that which he coveted so much in life."

The creature paused then looking down at its hands. "I swore Voor'Kath's stone would never again harm another living being while I lived and for eight hundred years it has remained here undisturbed, but I knew the only way to ensure its safety forever was to destroy it. Yet I cannot. For me to touch it again would be too much temptation to use it." Pain crossed Ronai's face. "I know I can save him. Go back to before he turned and stop him." His hands dropped again. "I know better though. If I tried, I would simply become that which I set out to avoid."

He sighed heavily. "No, it is not my destiny to end this evil." He looked up and into her eyes. "So young." He said offhandedly.

Ronai leaned back and pulled his hood over his face. "You must destroy the stone, it is the only way to truly protect the galaxy from its destructive power. Take it to Master Voor'Kath's forge on Dynath Ro'Han and use his machine. It is powered by a plasma stream tied directly to the planet's core."

He paused for a moment and she thought he'd fallen asleep. But in a moment he began again, without looking up.

"The planet lies on a conduit of the Force that drives the internal plasma gyres, and only with their combined power can it be unmade." He pointed to a mural on the wall adjacent to the exit. "That map will show you the way." The barely visible portion of his face winced. "I am sorry I could not do this, I am a weak and lonely old soul now, and the temptation is so strong. Do not use it again!"

Ronai looked up once more. "That you are here gives me hope. And hope can be the most powerful force in the galaxy."

He smiled at her once more then bowed his head. The room shifted again and the statue appeared in its altered location, the descending stairway materializing once more.

Ahsoka looked in awe at the stone in her hand. Reverently she placed it in her backpack and turned to go study the now faded mural.

''''''''

Trigger was inching his way forward into the chamber when motion caught his attention. A female Togruta was standing at the foot of a metal statue in the center of the room. She turned toward him just as Pecs stepped fully through the tunnel behind him. She saw them and reflexed into a defensive position.

"It's the Jedi!" he called out, immediately recognizing her movements from the holo-recording. Pecs dove to the right, gaining space between them so as to disallow any single attack devastating all of them. Trigger moved behind a stone bench to his left and leveled his rifle at the figure below. Fodder followed close behind and continued to the left, crouching behind the bench as he moved. In a moment there were no easy targets and three rifles aimed directly at the Jedi below.

"I take it you aren't here for the tour." Came the female's voice as she watched them spread out.

"Throw down any weapons you have," Trigger replied calmly, "and come with us peacefully."

"I think I'll leave on my own terms," the woman said sliding around to the left of the statue, effectively blocking off Pecs line of fire. He moved to try and reestablish, but without success.

"I promise no harm will come to you," Trigger said, not believing a word he was saying. "We're not interested in you, just the planet." He added, hoping to throw her off balance.

"I've heard that too many times before." She replied, and after a brief pause. "Do I know you?"

That took him back for a second, eliminating any doubt that she was a Jedi. Only a former Jedi General would have known clones specifically. "It doesn't matter if you do." He said, still thinking back through all his experiences with Jedi Generals and not recalling any Togrutan females.

With a silent hand signal, all three of them snapped their rifles into the stun setting. Admiral Tarkin's orders had said alive. Trigger gave the signal for attack and counted silently down from five in his head, knowing the others were doing the same. At zero he leaned out from his position and opened fire.

Ahsoka was ready for their attack and her lightsabers were in her hands well before the first stun shot reached her. With easy slicing motions she deflected the incoming fire. The commandos continued to fire and move, working on establishing an effective crossfire.

She was impressed with their tactics and decided she needed to go on the offensive. She was focusing on the commando to her right when a laser beam from a sniper scope flashed through the dusty air. She dodged backward as a high-velocity blaster round impacted where her head had just been.

"Not playing nice anymore, huh?" she called out from where she crouched now behind the statue's pedestal.

"Throw down your lightsabers and this can still end well!" Pecs called. Looking through his scope he caught movement and fired. The shot ricocheted off the lip of the statue's base sending down a shower of gravel. Trigger and Fodder had switched to lethal ammunition as well and were providing covering fire as they advanced on the Jedi's position. A second of his shots hit the pedestal and he swore under his breath. '_Armor piercing rounds_', he thought.

Swinging his pack off of his back he dug out his ammo cartridges. He popped out the high velocity magazine and jammed the armor piercing one into its place. Years of practice had made the process a quick one, but as he raised his rifle to relocate the target she flew in a single leap up from behind the statue and landed on the bench that was his cover. Blaster fire traced the arc of her path, a fraction of a second behind her, as his comrades took advantage of the clear shot. Pecs hit the deck hard, and not a moment too soon, the electric whoosh of her lightsaber was loud in his ears and suddenly his helmet display went blank. Not sure if he was blind or injured he rolled away automatically, a result of ingrained training.

Ahsoka was forced to retreat under heavy fire from the other two commandos, now on the opposite side of the chamber. They had excellent aim, rarely did a shot come in off target and this kept her busy deflecting the deadly projectiles. She flipped backward landing in the center of the chamber again, just next to the gap leading down to the lower stairway. Spinning she saw one of the commandos charging her position, only a few feet away from her. She reached out with the Force and flung him backwards hard into the wall of the temple where he slumped down.

"Goddamn bitch!" Fodder yelled out watching Trigger being smashed into the wall. He'd seen the Jedi standing over Pecs a moment before swinging her blade down at his head and assumed the worst for him as well. He pulled the trigger of his grenade launcher sending the explosive shell directly at her midsection.

Ahsoka spun, seeing the incoming rocket trailing a tail of concentrated white smoke. She knew she couldn't deflect it with her lightsaber, it'd just explode killing her anyway, and dodging was equally out as an explosion on the bench behind her would be just as deadly. An instant before the missile reached her she used the Force to push it down into the lower stairwell, at the same time she leapt backwards.

The room shook violently from the explosion and she was flung hard down onto one of the rising sets of stairs. The wind was knocked completely out of her and she lay gasping in the choking dust. With a loud crash the warrior's statue toppled and fell into what was left of the lower staircase. The head and shoulders snapped apart and filled in the rest of the opening while the ten feet of his blade broke clean off still held in his disembodied hand. It landed on a bench in the lowest row pointing accusingly toward where she lay.

Pecs had just thrown his useless helmet aside when the explosion happened. Thankfully he had still been behind the outermost bench when the concussion hit. He felt it thud in his chest, but remained upright. He could see that Trigger was down, leaning against the wall next to the entrance and he had no visual on Fodder. The Jedi however had just come to a rest on the stairs about fifteen feet away. He'd seen her lightsaber handles fly wildly against the far wall as she landed, clattering out of sight.

Without losing time to relocate his rifle, he instead pounced toward the prostrate Jedi. He jumped from one bench to the next until he landed roughly on top of her. Her eyes snapped open looking up at him, but he already had his thick fingers wrapped around her throat. The muscles in his arms bulged as he slowly squeezed the life out of her. The girl's fist beat hard against his face but he held on.

A sense of supreme satisfaction was in him now, the conclusion of their mission so nigh. Just another moment now and it would be all over. Her arm flopped out to her side, fingers outstretched. '_Grasping in desperation_', he thought. '_Pitiful Jedi, die with dignity!'_ But in that instant, on victory's doorstep, his hands suddenly went limp and he collapsed forward.

Ahsoka's lungs burned and her throat shrieked agony as she gasped desperately, the stairs digging a furrow into her back. On top of her slumped the muscular commando, ten feet of metallic blade buried in his skull. She coughed violently, every breath a misery. Doggedly she squirmed out from underneath his lifeless body and moved to the cover of the closest bench.

Crouching now, she took stock of her situation. The other side of the chamber was obscured from view by the still settling clouds of dust, but she knew the commando who had fired the grenade still had to be there. She scrambled up the stairs away from his position and found her lightsabers lying at the bottom of the outer wall. Rearming herself she turned on the offensive once more. Sprinting around the outer rim of the chamber she counted on the commando to take the first available shot at her he'd have and she was right.

Blaster fire erupted in concentrated bursts showering her location, but he'd given away his position. Using her green saber to deflect the incoming fire, she Force flung her red saber at its source and was rewarded with a scream of pain. The blaster fire arced toward the ceiling and ceased. The angry spinning blade swung back to her outstretched hand and she stood, chest heaving, her still ragged breath the only sound in the strange silence.

'''''''

Outside the temple Sparks spun quickly into cover at the sound of blaster fire. He heard muffled voices and continued fire coming from inside. '_I should be in there!'_ he thought slamming his fist against the low pedestal he'd taken position behind. When the explosion shook the ground, sending a horizontal column of dust billowing out of the main entrance, he abandoned his post and sprinted up the stairs. Visibility degraded rapidly and he switched on the visual assist in his helmet. As soon as he entered the door, rifle leveled he nearly stumbled over Trigger.

"Captain!" he said kneeling.

"I'll live." He coughed out blood and phlegm. "My rifle." He said, lethargically lifting an arm to point at the weapon lying nearby.

"Here you go Captain." Sparks handed him the rifle, butt first.

"Not for me," he coughed again, pushing the weapon back at Sparks. Pulling the charge pack from his belt he shoved it into Spark's hands and flicked the electro-charged barrel on. It crackled immediately to life and Sparks understood.

'''''''

Ahsoka had taken her first tentative step toward the doorway when an electric pink light illuminated in the dust that hung in the air. '_Sith_' she thought instantly, but realized the light was much too compact to be a lightsaber.

She was about to take another step when blaster fire erupted from the light source. So taken aback was she that she mis-deflected the first shot and it clipped her upper arm as it ricocheted off her lightsaber. She winced, but continued blocking the further fire as it came.

She charged now, leaping over the smoking ruins of the Warrior and, with a second jump, descended on the partially obscured assailant. She brought her green lightsaber down in an arc but it stopped, crackling as it met the resistance of the electrified gun barrel.

The rifle fired again and the shot screamed past her head, a hairs breadth away. She dodged to the side and brought her red lightsaber to bear, but the commando was fast too, swinging his gun barrel to intercept her blow. The weapon was well designed as this once again brought her face into the line of fire.

She arched her back, throwing her weight onto one leg and leaning hard, as the renewed blaster fire passed where her face had just been. This motion left her exposed though, and her assailant kicked her support leg out from under her. She landed hard on her back, the air escaping from her lungs once again.

This commando was all business as he brought the gun into line for the kill, but she Force pushed him toward the ceiling causing his shots to run wild. She did a kick up and spun as he did so, her twin lightsabers blurring in their speed. There was no cry as the commando fell to the ground in silence. The rifle landed a short distance away, the electrified barrel still humming away.

Striding over to where it lay Ahsoka tested it once more with the tip of her red saber, feeling the recoil where it touched. '_Well that's new_,' she thought, filing away the information for future use if necessary. With an easy swing she sliced the rifle in half below the barrel and the dancing pink electricity disappeared.

The dust was settling now and the true carnage of what remained of the chamber became visible. The grenade blast had pulverized the pedestal and legs of the Warrior and there was no sign that a stairway below ever existed. Three Imperial commandos lay dead, draped around the room; the fourth was propped against the wall by the door, struggling to breath. Ahsoka looked at him for a long moment assuring that he was no threat in his current condition. Just above his head was the mural that Ronai had pointed out to her.

Walking over toward it she stared for a long moment before she realized that she was looking at a rudimentary map of the galaxy. She noted the core and the six spiral arms, as well as what looked like some familiar star clusters. One star was marked in faded red instead of the yellow-white of the rest. '_That must be Dynath Ro'Han_,' she surmised. '_But how to find it's coordinates?_'

She looked around the chamber again, her eyes falling on a dismembered arm of the last commando. On his wrist he'd worn an integrated navigational computer. '_The pilot,_' she thought, guilt and regret rising in her as she surveyed all the death she had caused.

Personal details made killing much harder; when you didn't have to look an enemy in the eyes, dealing death felt easier, at least at first. Afterwards, any chance to dehumanize helped too, but those were only temporary fixes. Sooner or later you always had to deal with the consequences of your actions, but for her that usually came later and not while standing in the midst of carnage.

She kneeled down, carefully removing the navigational computer from the commando's wrist. She gently lay aside the arm and turned on the readout. Looking up, she saw the final commando staring directly at her as he struggled to stay upright.

"Just kill me and get it over with!" he spat a gob of blood on the floor between them.

After a long pause she said, "I'm sorry I had to kill your friends."

"You Jedi are all the same," he grunted. "You hide behind high minded ideals while doling out one-sided judgment."

He twisted, his face screwed up as pain wracked his body. When it had passed he continued. "The galaxy is better off without you. Your day's are numbered..." His voice trailed away.

She stood silent for a moment before activating the wrist computer and placing it in scanning mode. She lined it up in front of the mural and captured a rendering of the faded map. When she'd finished uploading the image and inputting a few basic details like the central core and the outer spiral arms of the galaxy she let the system spatially reference the rest of the mural's digital image. Finally she overlayed a map of the known galaxy on it. In a moment coordinates appeared under the faded red star. Turning, she stepped over the commando's legs and started out the door.

"I'm not a Jedi anymore," she said as she walked by him.

"You'd have killed me if you weren't!" he called after her, his words an accusation.

'''''''

The sun had set and risen twice by the time Trigger had finally dragged himself back to the Lambda transport in the plaza where they had landed. He had expected to find the smoldering ruins of his ship destroyed when the female Jedi had left the planet. It's what he would have done, but it was still there in one piece.

His legs hadn't worked right since he'd been smashed into the wall of the structure. Though he could still feel them, every inch was an agony of fire shooting down and then back to his spine. Something was broken, that was certain, but he had movement and that made him optimistic.

He reached out and grasped the aft support strut, almost disbelieving that he'd made it. Pulling himself up he hit the release switch before slumping back down. He was at the very limits of his strength now, and would not have been able to continue much longer.

The ramp eased down and he dragged himself up onto it. The angle, which had always seemed gentle, now felt like a mountain. He had to stop twice before finally reaching the level of the cargo bay. There found a spare ration pack lying on the deck and scrabbled through it to find the water container. Lying on his back for a long moment he let the liquid permeate his system.

He awoke with a start, not realizing he'd fallen asleep, and rolled back onto his stomach. The food pack lay open beside him and he popped a few handfuls of the grey, tasteless standard rations into his mouth. It was the best thing he'd ever eaten, though he knew it was in truth disgusting.

He wasted no time, though his body protested, and dragged himself past where the medical droid was housed, and into the cockpit. The fire-pain lanced down into his legs again as he propped himself up next to the holo-display. Blindly reaching a hand up, he searched for the button to activate the long-distance communications array. It snapped on and he gave the vocal command to contact the Vengeance.

Relief flooded through him when the connection was made. Even though they had failed in their primary mission, he could at least inform Admiral Tarkin of what they had learned and his team's deaths wouldn't be for nothing.

After what seemed like an eternity, Admiral Tarkin's hologram appeared on the display. "Captain, you do not look well." He intoned stoned-faced. "What is your report?"

"Admiral," Trigger began, "We reconned the planet and engaged the rogue Jedi in a structure on the Northern Hemisphere." He shifted painfully and sucked in his breath sharply. "The target terminated Commandos Beta, Gamma, and Delta with extreme prejudice." He said, fighting back the emotion rising up to choke his throat. "The target then proceeded to scan a mural on the wall and identify a set of coordinates using Commando Beta's navigational wrist computer." He stopped then to allow for questions.

"You know this how, Captain?" Tarkin replied, obvious displeasure in his voice.

"I had all of our wrist computers linked, Admiral," Trigger responded. "All of the information she downloaded and processed is on my unit as well." Reaching over to his wrist-mounted computer, he depressed the synchronization button and watched the progress bar begin sliding. "I've begun the data transfer to the Vengeance's now."

The hologram of Tarkin looked down to confirm receipt. "Your data stream is being received, Captain." Looking back up, the Admiral crossed his arms. "Anything further to report."

"One final item sir," Trigger painfully shifted again. "The target was a Togrutan female who claimed she wasn't a Jedi." He paused for a moment then added. "My assessment is that she was a Jedi General." He stopped, his report concluded.

Admiral Tarkin placed a hand reflectively on his chin. "Thank you Captain. Tend to your wounds and return to fleet headquarters as soon as you are able." The display went silent.

'''''''

Half the galaxy away the Vengeance was holding position in the Chommel Sector, scouting parties scouring three nearby systems. Admiral Tarkin stood on the bridge, observing the tactical display with a studied eye. The bridge doors whooshed open and Darth Vader strode purposefully down the access way to the command center.

"Admiral," Vader said tersely. "I trust you did not disturb me lightly." The threat was thinly veiled.

"No, Lord Vader," Tarkin replied turning to the console. He pressed a button and the holo-image of Captain Trigger appeared once again. The recording began, replaying the message from the beginning. Vader was impassive as the report progressed, staring away from the display console into the distant stars. But when the holographic Captain described the target Vader turned and intently focused on the image.

"Where was she headed?" He finally said.

"The coordinates that the Captain gave us lead to empty space," Tarkin replied.

"Recall the scouts and send the data to my personal interface," Vader said, already walking from the bridge. "As soon as they are onboard set course for those coordinates."

'''''''

Ahsoka sat on the Remnant's bridge staring at empty space. She double checked the data on her readout and confirmed that she had entered the coordinates correctly.

"R4!" she said with agitation in her voice, "What is this?" she waved vaguely at the inky blackness.

R4 beeped that this was the spot those coordinates dictated and that they were her coordinates after all. She didn't understand. Had she gotten it all wrong? She checked the numbers for the tenth time and reconfirmed they were entered correctly. The sensor array showed nothing in visible range.

She thought of Master Voor'Kath's stone and involuntarily looked at her backpack resting in the corner. '_Why not keep it?_' she thought, staring intently. She'd done her best, she'd brought the stone to the coordinates, but there was nothing here. She might as well keep it and protect it from misuse by others.

'_Just think of all the good I could do with it._' Her mind wandered. "_I could warn the Jedi council of the impending attack on the them. I could save countless lives. I could even stop the Clone Wars from ever happening at all!'_ That last thought sank in and she suddenly realized how dangerous Master Voor'Kath's stone truly was. Even in the hands of someone intending to do good the ramifications could be disastrous. War was never a good thing, but what about all the small positives that had occurred as a result? What about the alliances that had been forged, the friendships that had been developed, all of the love, the hate, the joy, and sadness? Was it her right to erase it all, to forever rewrite the cosmic script?

She thought for a long silent moment, her head bowed. "No." she finally said quietly but audibly. Nearby R4 chirped his confusion mistaking her comment as a command to him.

"Sorry R4," she told him without looking up. "I was just talking to myself." She swiveled back to face the display console. "Bring up a map of the galaxy and highlight the major systems." In a moment the holo-display came to life and a three dimensional representation of the galaxy appeared.

"Highlight our current location." A pulsing red spot appeared on the outer edge near a spiral arm. "There just isn't anything out here." She opined, frustration building. She drummed her fingers on the console, deep in thought. "Wait," she said sitting upright. "Just how old was that temple?" She stared intently at the pulsing red dot. "Magnify this quadrant." She pointed a finger at their current location on the map and it grew to cover the entire display. She could clearly see the dot that represented them floating in a space between three different star systems. "It has to be on one of those star systems, but which one." She paused again studying the map.

"R4," she said turning to look at the little droid. "Can you model the movement of the stars in this sector to see what their location would have been in the past?" He beeped his assertion that he could and began rotating his interface. A representation of the estimated date appeared above the map and slowly started counting backwards.

At first the only motion seemed to be the date readout, but little by little Ahsoka noticed the stars begin to drift. One of the three she'd identified was moving faster than the others and soon disappeared from the section being displayed. "One down." She said watching it go. The remaining two seemed to travel parallel to each other until the countdown reached approximately 10,000 years in the past. At that point they diverged, beginning courses that took them ever further apart.

Through it all, the pulsing red dot that represented them remained fixed in space. As the countdown approached approximately 22,000 years in the past one of the remaining two systems came to rest right on top of their position. "Stop." She called out and the display and timer halted. "There it is," she said looking at the conjoined points. "Which star system is that?" R4 chirped and a label appeared over the point. 'Unknown' it read.

The display shifted back to the map of the galaxy as she knew it, the new star system highlighted in red now as well. "Take us there."


	7. Chapter 7

Darth Vader sat impassively ensconced in the sphere of his computer core. The center of his display showed the empty space of the coordinates the Clone commando had provided, but his concentration lay elsewhere. No matter how hard he tried to focus, his thoughts kept turning back to the description of the rogue Jedi. '_A female Togruta…_'

He pulled up a list of possible candidates and scanned over them. There weren't many individuals that matched that physical description, were still breathing, and had the skills to decimate one of the finest Imperial commando units single-handedly. He selected two names from the list and opened the folios.

The image in front of him was that of Jedi Master Shaak Ti. Her face was impassive and her appearance seemed condescending to Vader. Hatred clouded his vision as he remembered the many instances where Shaak Ti had belittled him in front of the whole council, calling him rash and child-like. His fist clenched into a ball, shaking slightly as he held it closed. He would gladly end her life and images of how he would make her pay flashed into his mind.

The moment passed and as his rage subsided he pulled the other folio to the front of his display. The face that greeted him was young and smiling, innocent. '_Ahsoka_' he thought. The feeling this time was opposite the one that the image of Shaak Ti had produced. He stared, the light pigmentation patterns of the face so familiar. She had been his first and only Padawan trainee. The Jedi council had assigned the promising young Youngling to him in the hopes it would give him balance through the experience of teaching another. In truth she had learned much from him and taken on many of his traits, becoming willful and headstrong.

He hadn't counted on the bond that grew between them, student and master. She'd become like a little sister to him throughout the multitude of life and death adventures they'd shared during the Clone Wars. But she, like everyone else, had left him in the end too, walking away from the Jedi Order before its treason had been fully revealed.

In the aftermath of his near death at the hands of Obi Wan, as he came to understand the true power of the Dark Side and the depth of the betrayal of the Jedi, he'd hated everything and everyone, his new Master most of all. But Darth Sidious was immensely powerful and Vader knew he had much he could learn from him still. He'd often thought about killing Sidious and taking over ruling the galaxy himself, but his Master was too strong for him, for now.

He'd gone as far as making detailed plans and even anonymously hired a group of assassins to set upon the Emperor at a vulnerable moment. He never heard a word from them again, and his Master had not mentioned any assassination attempt.

In addition to his continued learning of the Dark Side from Sidious, he pursued knowledge from the Emperor's personal library. That library was a wealth of information, comprised of personal journals, books, and the wild ramblings of past Sith lords.

There were no indexes however, or neatly ordered chapters to sift through. Topics were not grouped in any sort of logical manner either and he found it incredibly frustrating at times, having the knowledge so fragmented.

It was during one of his many forays into the library that he'd stumbled across a journal entry written by an obscure Sith Lord named Morbis. In the journal Morbis referred to an ancient and powerful artifact called 'Ronai's Bane' that had allowed the wielder to interact with the past and even alter the course of history.

His mind had raced at the possibilities. Here was his salvation, his way to save Padme, to defeat his enemies before they even plotted against him. He'd scoured the rest of the journal account, but other than saying it was guarded by an extremely powerful and deadly Jedi warrior there was little further information.

For the next few months he barely left the library computer, only venturing out when his Master sent him on a mission. Through countless grueling hours he had been unable to find any further reference to the mysterious artifact.

He'd turned to the Jedi library files then and in searching came across a fragmented poem titled 'Ronai's Vigil'. It made sense why it was in the Jedi library and not in Sidious's personal one as it spoke of honor and duty in dire circumstances.

The poem was mostly useless inspirational fluff, but there had been a location name given, the Temple on Zay'Kor Een. There was no record of any planet, moon, or otherwise by that name and the trail had gone cold. In a final desperate act he had covertly put out a reward for any information on the location of Zay`Kor Een. It was months later before an actual lead came in. By then he'd crushed the life out of half a dozen attempted con-men who'd brought him nothing but obvious lies.

The lead came in the form of a simple anonymous message. It had read in part, 'If you want to know where Ronai sleeps contact me.' That had taken him aback as he had not mentioned the name Ronai to anyone. Below the message had been a comm frequency and a time. He'd made the call and negotiated payment for the coordinates to the planet. Part of the deal was that he would not make the exchange himself, the supplier untrusting and unwilling to meet with him. "One person only and the deal is off if you are within 100 Parsecs of transaction," the hooded figure with the vocal scrambler had said. Vader had reluctantly agreed to his terms and sent a Clone Commando with instructions to make the exchange and kill whoever it was once he'd procured the information.

He never heard from the commando again. He'd gone to investigate in the days following the planned transaction and discovered from the local officials that a stranger had been murdered on the outskirts of town. They had already cremated the body by then so he'd never found out who the stranger was, but he felt it must have been the information dealer. His intuition was confirmed when they found the body of the commando and his crashed ship a few miles away on a remote hillside. The ship had been shot down by pirates and looted, the money and information gone.

Rage had over taken him there and he'd hurled the wreckage down the mountainside. That it had taken five troopers with it he didn't care. The trail of the pirates was impossible to follow and the Emperor had recalled him to perform some menial task.

He'd put out a significant reward for finding the information, never intending to pay it, and bided his time. Months had passed and he had all but forgotten the search when Daggo, the sleazy black market mogul, had contacted him through his secret representative, saying he had retrieved the data. With all haste Vader had assembled his crew aboard the Vengeance and set out to ambush Daggo. Before they had left Coruscant he'd managed to get an assassin droid on board the Toydarian's vessel with orders to neutralize the crew and procure the data as soon as possible.

And now the trail had come full circle, the commandos had stood on Zay'Kor Een, or should he say Xycor III, so obvious in retrospect. Had the Jedi found his prize or was it at the new location? '_So many questions, not enough answers_!' he thought angrily. And who would he find when they arrived at these new coordinates. He focused on the image of Ahsoka Tano on his display once more before disconnecting from the computer interface.


	8. Chapter 8

The Remnant dropped out of hyperspace and cruised toward the only planet in orbit around the unnamed star. Oceans of shifting plasma cast an eerie purple light that illuminated Dynath Ro'Han's surface, a stark contrast to its utterly black and lifeless continents. At each of the planet's poles, dancing tails of magnetic green trailed away from the distant star like cosmic rivers. The effect was strangely mesmerizing.

Ahsoka finally broke from her revere and activated the sensor array. A single man-made structure popped up on the readout. It was located in the middle of a huge inland lake of plasma that stretched over six hundred miles at its widest point. Very near its center and directly beneath the structure, the sensors detected an enormous plasma upwelling. The sheer amount of power being produced staggered her; she'd only ever seen stars create that kind of output.

As the Remnant continued its descent toward the structure Ahsoka could not see anything beyond the glowing purple light beneath them. Finally, as they passed below 1,000 feet, a dark spot appeared, slowly growing in size and detail. The structure looked like a giant spike, hovering barely above the now nearly blinding sea of light beneath it. At its tip it looked needle sharp, while half way up it swelled into a disk before collapsing back again. At the top it belled out once more, much larger this time, into a perfectly circular platform. The roof looked to be a landing pad and she made for it, easing the Remnant gingerly down. She kept her hands on the throttle, ready to take off at the first sign that the station below was sinking, but all remained steady.

Her readout showed that the atmosphere outside was a toxic mix of gases that while not immediately fatal, would not take long to disable even a resilient species.

"Stay with the ship R4," she said, getting no complaints from the little droid. "Keep the engines primed so we can get out of here quick if need be."

She turned and picked up her backpack preparing to leave, but paused holding it in her hands feeling its weight. She was caught up in the stone again, thinking of all the mysteries she could solve, all the Masters she could learn from, an endless stream of possibility playing out behind her eyes.

She sighed heavily and, shouldering her pack, strode off of the bridge. As she passed the airlock she turned in and plucked her face mask off of the vent lock. Checking the oxygen level in the filter canister she observed the gauge register only fifty percent capacity.

_'__Forty-five minutes, give or take,'_ she thought.

She kicked herself for not recharging it after its last use, and pondered charging it now, but decided the sooner she got rid of the stone the sooner her temptation to use it would end.

'_I can always come back and recharge it if I need more time,_' she told herself.

Her decision made she stepped into the hold and hit the release switch that activated the cargo bay ramp. The blue haze of the automatic shielding thrummed to life, holding the ship's air in and the toxic gases out as the ramp eased downward with its usual creaking protest. With a final look around, she pulled the mask on and stepped down onto the structure below.

The lightshow that the plasma put on was even more vivid out here. At times the horizon would disappear far below the lip of the landing deck while at other times it seemed to swell up to a level well above the station. Yet whatever mechanism held the structure in place kept them safely clear of the enormous waves of plasma.

With an effort she tore her eyes from the undulating surface and scanned the platform. The whole structure was made out of a dark gray metal without any visible joints or riveting. In the very center a tall cylindrical protrusion thrust upward. She made her way over to it and walked two-thirds of the way around before she found what looked like a doorway. It did not activate when she approached however, nor did it budge when she put her hands on it and pushed.

Stepping back she traced the outline until she noticed a small square patch just to the right of the door. Her finger had barely brushed it when in lit up with a faint white light and the door slid silently open.

The interior lights flickered on as she peered inside to see an empty circular space.

_'I really hope this is the elevator_,' she thought stepping inside.

The door whispered closed behind her and with a metallic groan that did not instill confidence in her, the floor began to slowly descend. It hadn't dropped very far, maybe thirty feet or less, when the walls fell away and she found herself in a wide circular chamber. The lights we coming on, one bank at a time, but they were unnecessary as the whole room was illuminated by the intense purple glow of the plasmic sea shining through a complete ring of windows encircling the outer wall.

The chamber itself was spartan but for a few banks of computer consoles dotted about the floor. To one side stood an enormous metallic pillar that ran floor to ceiling, a distance of probably fifty feet.

As the platform she was standing on finally reached the level of the floor it audibly locked into place. Turning in a circle to survey the chamber, Ahsoka had been wondering whether it was safe to remove her face mask when she noticed one of the window panels had shattered inward, its remains littering the floor beneath it.

'_No life support in here._' she sighed.

She stepped off of the platform and moved to the nearest console, studying it intently. None of the markings looked familiar at all and she could not ascertain what its function might have been. Moving on to the next console she found it to be equally foreign.

Changing tactics she scanned the room looking for anything that might be remotely familiar. One console over by the broken out window looked vaguely like an archive computer so she made her way over to it.

A central display screen was surrounded by a few sparse buttons and, choosing at random, she depressed one. Although old and worn, the screen lit up quickly and began rapidly displaying large amounts of text in an unintelligible language. The text was broken down into separate entries and she noted that many of those entries had a red rectangular icon next to them. She traced a finger over one of them and a voice suddenly spoke behind her. She whirled whipping out her lightsabers.

"Day 125, the ore remains unchanged despite the new channeling mechanisms. I will adjust the flow ratios and try anew tomorrow."

Just as instantly as it had appeared, the image disappeared again. She had recognized the figure immediately, the man with the long white hair that she'd seen lying in the sarcophagus under the Warrior's statue on Xynoc III. He had looked much younger just now, and she realized that she must have activated a journal entry of some kind.

She relaxed and returned her lightsabers to her hip, turning once again to the archive console. There were numerous entries here if she understood the readout correctly. Scrolling down she found another grouping of text with the same rectangular icon and pressed it. The figure reappeared behind her wearing different clothing.

"Day 53, I've managed to gather the last of the raw ore from the planet's rings. I believe I now posses all that exists in the entire galaxy." The figure looked down. "I hope it is enough."

'_Master Voor'Kath,_' Ahsoka realized, _'documenting his progress in creating the stone._'

She scrolled the other direction on the screen this time and chose a different file from the list.

"Day 205," Voor'Kath's voice was tired and sounded frustrated, "The partial congealing that occurred yesterday at four million picodynes did not reoccur during today's test at five million." He paused. "Perhaps Ronai was right. Perhaps this pursuit is folly and should be abandoned."

Ahsoka could feel the pain in his voice and marveled at the dedication the man had shown. She turned again to the console and scrolled past hundreds of sections all the way to the top, to the final entry and pressed the button.

"Day 768! I've done it! I've finally created the conduit stone and bound it to the flow of time and space with the Force! The adjustments I made to the stream of plasma running through the focusing column nearly obliterated the ore, and would have had the injectors remained open an instant longer. But my endless torment is over! I tested it today and found myself sitting in the lecture hall on Tython listening as Master Fho taught the first of our Order." Elation was in his voice. "The applications for this stone are endless. Tonight I leave this wretched laboratory forever; I must share my success with Ronai!"

The image disappeared a final time, leaving silence in its wake. Ahsoka found it hard to believe that this bright and energetic person had turned to using his creation for evil. Yet the longer she thought about it, the lure of the stone, the more she could see how a gradual downward spiral could occur, even in the hearts of those with the best of intentions.

'_Yes_,' she decided again, '_destroying it is the only option_.'

Her eyes fell upon the pillar just off the center of the chamber, and tracing its length realized that there was a gap in it just about at chest height.

'_Was that the focusing column that Master Voor'Kath had referred to in the archive journal entry?_'

She walked over to it and inspected the gap more closely. The space was large enough to fit the stone, but she refrained from removing it from her backpack just yet. A sudden thought popped into her head.

'_Why not simply go back and ask Ronai exactly what to do, or even better why not go back even further and ask Master Voor'Kath himself_?'

She longed to use the stone again but realized that if she did, like Ronai, she would not be able to bring herself to destroy it.

'_I can do this,' s_he said to herself, scanning the room again.

Only one console in the chamber faced toward the column and she walked over to it. There were a myriad of buttons, a large dial, and lever that looked like a shuttle throttle control. Grasping ahold of the lever she pushed it forward.

"Here goes nothing." She said aloud to no one.

The deck beneath her feet began a low ominous vibration. At the same time a purple aura grew around the base of the column, steadily gaining in intensity. Soon the entire base of the column was swathed in bright purple plasma. She was about to pull the lever back, fearing the whole place might come down around her, when the light arced to the upper half of the column and the vibrations eased. The whole chamber seemed to pulse with the plasmic energy flowing through it and her mind felt strangely numb, almost as if she was partially blinded by a thick veil. The light and the strange sensation abruptly stopped as she hammered the lever back down.

Ahsoka felt she had a good grasp on what she needed to do now. Wordlessly she took the dial on the console in her hand and spun it as far as it would go to the right. Then taking her backpack off her shoulders she walked slowly over to the column and stood before the gap hesitating. There was no going back from this.

With a deep sigh she opened the bag and pulled the stone from the bottom. It seemed lighter here than it had back in the Temple on Xycor III. Holding it in front of her she was about to place it on the lower half of the pedestal when it lifted gently out of her hands and came to rest floating equidistantly between the two sides of the gap. It hovered there rotating very slowly.

'_Let's just get this over with_.' She thought and spun away from the stone, returning her empty backpack to her shoulders.

Ahsoka halted at the control console, placing a hand on the lever. Her knuckles whitened as she gripped it hard, but she just couldn't make herself throw it.

"Dammit!" she yelled, stepping away from the controls once more. She stood for a moment staring back and forth between the stone and the lever.

She had just stepped forward to finally throw the lever when a huge crash swung her around. In the middle of the floor behind her now lay a circular chunk of the doorway above. It had fallen down the entrance and settled next to the lowered platform, its edges red-hot.

'_Lightsaber cut.'_ She thought an instant before a dark figure dropped out of the empty shaft above, landing on one knee as his cloak settled around him.

Though she'd never met Lord Vader before or even seen him at a distance, she knew immediately who he was. His reputation preceded him throughout the galaxy; Destroyer, murderer, Jedi hunter, and the right hand of the First Galactic Emperor.

Her mind raced. '_Why was he here? Had he tracked her down because she'd once been a Jedi? If so, why now?'_ These and a million other questions clouded her mind. She snapped open both her lightsabers and crouched into a defensive position.

Darth Vader stood and looked at her unmoving, the regularity of his breathing filling the chamber. After a moment he spoke.

"I'd hoped it would be you."

The familiarity of his words threw her off balance.

"Sorry, I don't give autographs," she quipped never taking her eyes from the blank stare of Vader's helmet. "I'd think someone like you would have better things to do."

"You are wrong." He took a slow step forward. "I can sense your connection with the Force, strong for one so young."

"What do you want with me?" She called over to him, wary as he took another step toward her.

"I have been searching for _you_ for a very long time." Vader replied evenly. She found that hard to believe.

"Why? I'm not a Jedi any more." She paused. "Is it because you killed my old Master and are afraid I'll attempt to avenge him?" she shifted her lightsabers to a different position. Vader stopped advancing at that and seemed to consider what she'd said.

"If I killed your Master, now is your chance at revenge." He spread his arms wide showing empty hands. "Why don't you take it now, if you can?"

Ahsoka hesitated, unsure of what her next move should be. Attack seemed best. Perhaps she could catch him off guard and disable him before he had a chance to react.

Without a sound she leapt at Vader, all the pent up anger and sadness rushing forth. In the air, a yell issued involuntarily from her lips as she brought both of her lightsabers down at Vader's unprotected head.

Just before her blades would have sliced through the vacant eyes, out of nowhere and faster than she thought possible, Vader's single red lightsaber appeared. Her blades crashed hard into his, and while it gave a little with the force of her blow, for the most part she took the brunt of the impact. She crashed down at his feet and in a fluid motion swung to cut the legs out from under him, but he was gone.

'''''''

Vader alit a few paces away.

'_She is fast,'_ he thought, '_and stronger than I remember.'_ He could feel the anger in her and the dichotomy of her lightsabers was not lost on him. '_A warrior trapped between two worlds._' She reminded him very much of himself not too many years ago. He'd always known her to be smart too, but he was impressed.

It had taken him long enough with the full resources of Empire to figure out the location of this remote planet, accounting for temporal drifting. She had done it all by herself.

As soon as they'd entered orbit around the planet, he'd sensed her, faintly. That was why he had insisted on going alone. Tarkin had protested but knew better than try to overrule him.

"Besides Admiral," he had said departing, "you can always bombard the station from space should anything go wrong."

That had been a stab at Tarkin's ego as a few years ago he had bombarded a planet from orbit and managed to accidentally kill the fourth highest ranking member of the Emperor's council. What Tarkin didn't know was that Vader had arranged for the council member to be there on purpose. It had been a clean assassination with no tracing it back to him.

Now he let Ahsoka attack him again. Her swordplay had improved in their years apart, which was impressive as she'd already been extremely proficient. He did not let it show, but he was being hard pressed to keep up with her attacks. She charged at him again with a flurry of expected attacks, and he recognized the pattern well as he'd taught it to her.

"Your form is sloppy." He said feinting and nearly catching her with the true thrust. "There is much I could still teach you."

She did not catch his meaning, so intent on the fight was she.

'_Good,'_ he thought, '_her hate will only give her more strength.'_

She was tiring a bit he could tell so he went in to disarm her.

That had always been her biggest weakness when they had practiced together, her stamina. All he'd had to do was let her wear herself out then move in and disarm her. Her green blade dipped, a sign of the fatigue setting in and he struck. In a flash he dodged his blade under her guard and the green lightsaber disappeared as half the handle went spinning away. But in an instant his confidence evaporated.

Her red lightsaber swung around and sliced deep into his right forearm. Sparks flew from the gash and he lost control of the extremity, losing his lightsaber in turn. She'd fooled him.

'_Clever girl!' _he thought even as the red saber swung around to deal a fatal blow.

He Force pushed them apart at the last second and her blade only nicked his chest plate. That was dangerous though and he was fortunate that none of his support systems were hampered. It was time to end the game. She was rolling onto her feet a dozen paces away preparing to charge back in.

He stood purposefully and faced her.

"I am impressed with your progress, Snips." He let the sound of the pet name only he had used hang in the air.

'''''''

Ahsoka had been fighting for her life, knowing every move could be her last, but despite all she tried, every attack and feint Vader seemed to know in advance. She switched swordplay styles with the same result, nothing worked. She was beginning to tire and knew she had to make her move soon.

One thing she'd picked up on was that Vader almost always waited for her to attack and based his counter-maneuver on that. Only the fastest swordsmen could successfully use this approach, Obi Wan and Anakin being the only two she'd ever sparred with. Anakin had always been able to defeat her with the same tactic and as a Padawan she'd never figured out how to counter him. But during the many long and lonely cargo runs she'd been on over the years, she had played those scenarios over and over in her head, acting them out. She had finally devised a strategy that she thought might work, but had never had the opportunity to attempt it.

And now that the moment was on her she was afraid it would fail. But the only other option ensured failure so she went for it. She feigned tiredness in her leading arm and let the tip of her saber drop, a sure sign to any accomplished swordsman that fatigue was winning out. Vader had taken the bait but he was faster than she thought possible. Her lightsaber had been sliced in half and was now useless. But she was committed and without hesitation she took the offered opening and connected.

Elation shot through her as Vader's hand went numb and dropped his lightsaber. The sparks that flew from his arm caught her attention for a fraction of a second but she was already engaged in the death strike.

She swung for Master Yoda, for Master Plo Koon, for all the Jedi who had died, but most of all she swung for Anakin.

But Vader was a cunning foe and blasted them apart using the Force. Her swing went wide as she was thrown clear. She recovered fast and rolled to her feet. She had to finish him now. Tensing her whole body she prepared to fling herself on him before he had time to stop her. But she stopped short, as if she'd been punched hard in the gut.

He'd called her Snips.


	9. Chapter 9

Ahsoka stared in disbelief, her lightsaber still leveled in her hand. "I don't…" she started then trailed off. Her mind was a tumult of confusion. When she could finally force herself to think again she said almost inaudibly, "But how?"

Vader stood implacable, bathed in the purple light of the plasmic sea. Only the occasional spark from his right forearm arcing out every now and then interrupted the moment.

"Obi Wan." He said it as a curse, letting the name hang in the air. "He did this to me. Betrayed me and left me to die on Mustafar."

"No…" Ashoka recoiled. "He couldn't have."

"He and the rest of the Jedi Council betrayed us all, as well you know."

He was alluding to her wrongful accusation of treason against the Republic. The Jedi had abandoned her in her time of need, ejecting her from the Order.

"I tried to stop them, to end the chaos that they were sowing and bring peace to the galaxy, but I failed." He balled his good fist at these words and she could feel the rage build inside him.

"The Emperor found me then and gave me back my life so that I might once and for all bring justice to the galaxy."

Ahsoka was overwhelmed by the information and sat down hard on the floor, sliding her remaining red lightsaber closed.

"Is it really you Master?" she said, her voice shaking a bit.

"Yes," Vader responded firmly, "What Obi Wan left of me."

She looked back up at him from across the room. "But what about all the horrible things I've heard Lord Vader…" she paused, "I've heard you've done?"

Vader was silent for a moment.

"I've been forced to do many things in service to the Emperor that I would not have chosen to do, for he is a more powerful man than you can possibly imagine."

"Emperor Palpatine?" she sounded incredulous.

On every occasion she'd been in his presence, when he was still Chancellor Palpatine, he had seemed a rather frail man, an excellent bureaucrat who wielded plenty of political power, but nothing more.

"The Emperor took me under his wing and taught me powers I never knew existed. Power's the Jedi Council kept to themselves in order to keep the rest of us under their control."

"I don't understand?" she said frowning. "How could the Chancellor have known of Jedi powers?"

Vader turned and looked out at the roiling sea beneath them.

"He is my Master." He replied slowly. "A Sith Lord of unimaginable strength and cunning."

"A Sith Lord?" Ahsoka was taken aback.

The realization that a Sith Lord had been at he center of power in the galaxy, influencing every twist and turn of the government for years, absolutely floored her.

"How can you serve him!" She cried out standing once more. "After all the terrible things he's done, that he's made you do!?"

Vader stood silent, looking at the ground.

"He is too powerful for me!" he spun looking at her now. "For me alone." A heavy moment passed in silence.

"Join me." Vader said finally, reaching his good hand out to her. "Become my apprentice once again, and together we can rid the galaxy of his evil!"

Ahsoka abruptly sat again, overwhelmed by what was happening. She'd been alone for so long, unable to trust in anyone but herself, and to have someone she could rely on would truly be a gift. The thought of joining her old Master once more was pure joy, but the figure she saw standing on the opposite side of the room looked nothing like Anakin. And if this 'Lord Vader' had done half the things he'd been rumored to have done, how much of her Master Anakin was still in there?

She was still deep in thought when Vader continued.

"Together we can rule the galaxy and forever keep the tyranny of the Jedi a thing of the past!" he intoned, now looking beyond her out of the windows. "No longer will the strong prey upon the weak without consequences. Like avenging angels we will descend upon those who sow chaos and annihilate them with their own methods!" he was lost in his thoughts of vengeance and did not see the change in Ahsoka's face. "We can wipe the remnants of the Jedi away like so much chaff and no one will ever know they existed!"

A realization struck her and she suddenly looked at Master Voor'Kath's stone still hovering in the column. Looking back at Vader she interjected.

"You came for the stone didn't you?" It all sank into place, Daggo, the attack on the Vorta, the Imperial Commandos. "You've been searching for the stone, not for me."

Vader snapped back toward her. "You found it!" he said, "Ronai's Bane." She had not heard it referred to by that name before, but it made absolute sense. "Can it do what I've dreamed it can? Can it allow me to alter the past?"

She arose, truth clearly resounding throughout her senses. Alarm bells were sounding loudly in her mind as the consequences of someone as single minded as Lord Vader controlling the stone became apparent. Ronai had tasked her with destroying it to keep it from the very type of person that stood before her now.

"It is too dangerous…" she dreaded what was coming.

"Dangerous?" Vader replied, "Only to our enemies."

"It has to be destroyed." Ahsoka turned and looked at the rotating stone. "That is why I brought it here."

"Destroyed!?" Vader said, confusion and irritation in his voice. "You would destroy the means to right all the wrongs ever committed in the galaxy? You would destroy the power to dispense justice to all those who have wronged others?" He started walking toward the column now. "No! We must use it!"

"I can't let you!" she said grasping the lever in her hand. An intense silence filled the room as Vader stopped and turned to face her.

"Then you would betray me too." His sudden rage permeated the chamber. "Just like Obi Wan, you would take everything I've strived for and leave me with nothing."

He raised his left hand toward her and suddenly her throat constricted. "Not this time!" He cried out angrily. "Not ever again!"

Ahsoka's feet lifted off the ground as Vader crushed her throat in his building rage. Her hands scrabbled at her neck that had barely healed from when the Commando had done the same to her. She tried to reach out with the Force but she could not concentrate with the vice around her windpipe. Helplessly she dangled, a full three feet above the deck now.

The purple light that bathed the chamber was quickly shrinking down to a small, dark tunnel in front of her as she began to lose consciousness, but she would not go out easy.

'_I won't let him have it!_' She thought heavily, feeling as if forming each thought was like trying to swim through thick mud.

With a mighty effort she gave a final kick of her legs as all light disappeared from her eyes. The kick did not free her neck, but it wasn't meant to. Instead, her outstretched foot connected with the column control lever on the console now at boot level.

The change was incremental, but quick as the plasmic energy built up on the lower column. While the plasmic power grew, the vice grip on her neck eased and she suddenly dropped roughly to the ground gasping. Her face hit the console as she fell and her facemask cracked loudly.

Vader looked down at his hand in disbelief. Ahsoka's vision was slowly returning to normal and as it did so she her lightsaber came into focus lying just out of reach of her arm. She reached out her hand and tried to use the Force to pull it to her, but nothing happened. The strange numb feeling that she had felt the first time she had thrown the lever was back, but much stronger this time.

Her senses were incredibly dulled as well and it took her a moment to realize that the loss of the Force was tied to the flow of the plasmic energy. It made sense as she thought about it, the machine was designed to channel the Force into the stone and it was most likely pulling from everything nearby including the both of them.

She rolled over to see Vader vainly attempting to reach in and remove the stone from the energy stream, but it was locked in place surrounded by the plasmic energy. Vader's hand slowly evaporated before her eyes as he fought to extricate the stone. An angry noise issued from him but if it had actually contained any words they were lost in the rumbling noise that now permeated the chamber.

Toxic gases were seeping in through the large crack in her mask and Ahsoka could feel the difference in every breath she took now. The mask was still mostly intact so was providing at least some protection, but she would not last long in this condition.

Lord Vader spun and looked directly at Ahsoka then, his now handless arm hanging strangely in front of him. Electricity was arcing from the partially melted and deformed end. The power flow through the column behind him was becoming so intense that the new light was starting to overpower the light from outside. In that moment, a crawling shudder ran through the station and both Ahsoka and Vader reeled from the impact as it reached their chamber.

Vader stumbled forward falling onto the central platform and, some hidden mechanism triggered, it rose stoically toward the gap in the ceiling. On his knees, he stared increasing down at her as the platform rose, right up until the moment it disappeared into the ceiling above.

Vader had just disappeared from sight when the station was rocked again by another huge rumble traveling up the length of the structure. The sound of immanent destruction was only growing louder as the chamber began wrenching apart, the deck plating buckling as large rents tore violently open.

Ahsoka dragged herself as far from the now blinding column of light as possible. Grabbing her red lightsaber as she passed it lying on the floor, she continued crawling on all fours, ending up near the broken exterior window she'd seen earlier. She had just reached the wall when, with a tremendous shudder, the floor shifted and began tilting drunkenly, threatening to send her sliding headlong back toward the instant death of the waiting column. Reacting quickly, she climbed up onto the back of the console beside her, standing on its side surfing it as the station tilted and then completely fell over into the lake of plasma below.

Immediately the station began disintegrating, creeping downward and incrementally disappearing into oblivion. In desperation Ahsoka looked around and found the broken window, now directly above her head. She pulled herself through it and out onto the hull of the foundering structure.

She didn't quite know why she was fleeing at this point. The Remnant was surely dissolving in the endless glowing lake below, if it wasn't already gone, and without it there was no means of escape. Beneath her in the shrinking chamber the plasmic column disappeared into the lake with a final pulsing blast, taking Master Voor'Kath's stone with it.

With a tangible rush, Ahsoka felt the Force flow back into her. It did little to assuage her though as doom still quickly approached, rising inexorably through the chamber below. The central platform was now gone, more than half the station consumed along with it. Ahsoka shifted over to the highest point, a cylindrical projection that jutted out about fifteen feet from the main hull, and decided that she would meditate in the few moments she had left before the end came.

Sitting down with legs crossed beneath her she did her best to relax and considered her insignificance in the vastness of the galaxy. She felt somewhat mollified that at least she'd been able to complete Ronai's quest and destroy the stone. No one could wield its power, good intentions or not, ever again. She looked up one last time to see the stars far above, but they were washed out by the dazzling purple glow emanating from below.

A sudden movement at the edge of her vision intruded on her reverie and to her utter amazement the Remnant hove into view, descending directly above her. She couldn't believe her eyes, the cargo bay door was still open as it moved closer.

Looking back down at the chamber below, dismay welled anew as she saw the plasma devouring what remained of the station now only twenty feet away. Leaping to her feet without a moment to spare she crouched and launched herself straight up into the air. All the might of the Force and her legs combined to rocket her upward toward the dangling ramp. Her outstretched fingers barely clamped onto the lip at its extreme lowest point and, with a vice grip, she wearily dragged herself up onto the ramp. Crawling on all fours she collapsed into the cargo hold in absolute disbelief that she'd made it.

She ripped the broken facemask off her head and flung into a far corner where it promptly shattered completely. Fresh clean air from the ship flooded her lungs in large gulps. She savored the sweetness of it, such a stark contrast to the thick, metallic taste of the atmosphere that had leaked in through the crack in her mask. But there was no time for her to savor this small joy though.

She did not know if Vader had escaped or if his inevitable reinforcements were already on their way. As quickly as she could manage she ran toward the bridge, punching the cargo bay door control as she ran past it to close the ramp behind her. Her lungs burned from the gases she had breathed in but there was no time to stop at the med station now. Bursting into the cockpit she took a brief moment to pat R4 on the head.

"You saved my ass down there." R4 chirped that he had merely activated the thrusters when the deck had shifted under the ship. "A 'Your welcome' would have sufficed." She retorted.

"Did any other ships leave the station?" she asked dreading the answer. R4 beeped that one other short range shuttle had departed just before he had taken off from the platform.

'_He escaped then.' _Some part of her was relieved, she'd seen how much her former Master had changed but hoped that part of his former self still existed underneath the façade. She doubted though that they'd ever meet as friends again now that she had denied him what he had desired most.

'_No, I've made a powerful enemy today._' She thought sadly.

"Spool up the hyperdrive R4," she said aloud, "we've got to get out of here fast."

They had not even cleared the atmosphere when the orbital bombardment began. Canon fire rained down past them to disappear in the ocean of plasma below.

"How much longer?" she called out, banking hard to roll the ship sideways and present a smaller surface area for the incoming fire. Ahsoka didn't hear R4's response as a direct hit scored on their hull, but it didn't matter. Whatever timeframe R4 had given would not be soon enough.

She jammed the controls downward and they plummeted back toward the planet's surface. There were no places to hide down here but she hoped the energy output from the plasmic ocean might interfere with the targeting scanners of the ship in orbit.

It appeared to be working as the number of shots that impacted the shields decreased dramatically. Flying this close to the surface of the plasma at speed was extremely difficult though and required every ounce of her attention. She wanted to check the energy shielding status but dared not look away from the controls for even an instant.

As suddenly as it had begun, the orbital bombardment ceased. Confused, Ahsoka hesitantly gained some altitude. The reprieve was short lived however as a squadron of short ranged fighters screamed downward, a hail of automatic blaster fire preceding them.

Ahsoka reacted instantly, hammering the altitude control fully back and punching the throttle to make the Remnant careen skyward. The maneuver bought her some precious distance from her attackers, but they were fast and more agile than the much larger Remnant. Even with all the modifications she'd made, the ship had been designed for hauling cargo and not the deadly dance of an aerial dogfight.

Her pursuers had gained back the distance now and the torrent of shots had resumed. She took a quick glance at the shielding status and her heart sank. The aft shielding had only five percent power remaining and in a moment that too would be gone.

R4 beeped loudly alerting Ahsoka that the hyperdrive was ready. That was good news but they were still in the inner gravity field of the planet and could not jump.

Hyperspace jumps were always performed at a minimum safe distance from large gravitational bodies. This was because the intense gravitational forces could easily confound the precise calculations of a jump. In addition, the effects of objects with significant mass extended into hyperspace. If a ship traveling through hyperspace were to pass through a location that in normal space contained a star, the gravitational plexing that connected hyperspace and normal space would instantly destroy the vessel regardless of its shielding or size.

The problem was that there was no way to detect gravitational plexis once you were inside hyperspace, and if you drifted out of the safe corridor you could pass through one at any moment. And it wasn't as simple as plotting a course to avoid stars either as they were not the only phenomenon to create hyperspace plexi. This was why it was so important to ensure you were within the boundaries of known hyperspace corridors and did not deviate from your calculated pathway. And of course that was just the danger while actually traveling through an unknown corridor. If, on the outside chance you somehow stumbled upon a safe one, on the other end there was always the chance you'd drop out inside a planet or star. Taking unknown hyperspace routes was paramount to suicide.

Alarm bells sounded now as the aft shields failed entirely. In a moment the Remnant's hull plating would fail as well and they would break apart in a spray of twisted metal and flame. Ahsoka realized it was certain death to stay and almost certain death to jump, but she opted for the slim hope over none at all.

Without hesitation she reached over and mashed the manual hyperjump control lever forward. In a flash of light the ship speared into hyperspace leaving devastation in its wake. The closest of the trailing short range Imperial fighters were partially pulled into hyperspace along with the Remnant and disintegrated in a streak of red hot fragments. The fighters that had more distance spiraled wildly out of control, most disappearing into the ocean of plasma below. Only two of the fighter squad emerged from the carnage to limp back to the Vengeance orbiting the now silent planet below.


	10. Chapter 10

An engineering droid worked diligently with only the precision a machine can have. Specialized tools cut away and removed damaged servos and wiring while a different set of armatures almost simultaneously put new ones in their place. The smell of solder was thick in the air when Admiral Tarkin stepped into the medical bay and observed Darth Vader lying anything but patiently on the operational table. The droid had just finished repairing one arm and had begun work on the remaining one when Tarkin spoke.

"Our fighters managed to disable the shielding on the vessel trying to escape the planet's surface." He steeled himself and proceeded. "With destruction imminent the pilot opted to perform a hyperspace jump while still in the planet's atmosphere."

"I wanted her alive!" Vader slammed his new fist down on the table beside him.

"If you had wanted her alive you should have let me send down troops to retrieve her and not gone down to the surface alone."

"Do not think to lecture me, Admiral! Until you are the supreme protector of the galaxy you will keep your opinions to yourself unless I ask for them."

"As you say, Lord Vader." Tarkin replied barely able to conceal his anger.

The engineering droid finished repairing Vader's second arm and stepped back from the operating table. "Repairs are completed." It said in a bland voice. Vader stood and flexed each arm and hand separately, testing the range of motion. Once he was satisfied that everything appeared to be in order he continued.

"Prepare a fleet-wide bulletin with a description of the ship and include a brief on a former Jedi named Ahsoka Tano." Vader looked at Tarkin who now stood at attention. "You are dismissed Admiral."

"Yes, my Lord."

As Tarkin exited the room he let the emotion flood back to his face. He knew better than to anger Lord Vader. Despite their history together and his own advanced position in the Empire he doubted Vader would hesitate to have him killed. He probably wouldn't do it openly, but it wouldn't be the first time that an unfortunate accident had befallen a senior member of the Emperor's council.

Tarkin made his way to the command deck, every occupant standing to attention as he entered. "At ease." He said and they resumed their previous duties.

"Lieutenant," Tarkin said approaching the command console. "Prepare a descriptive brief of the vessel that escaped the planet and disseminate it across the fleet." He was about to continue but the Lieutenant interrupted him.

"But it's been destroyed, sir."

"Did you see it get destroyed, Lieutenant?" He snapped, his voice dripping with venom.

Honestly he agreed with the Lieutenant that the chances any ship would survive an inter-gravitational hyperspace jump were infinitesimally small, but he did not appreciate his orders being questioned. The Lieutenant shook his head no.

"At this time your orders are to prepare the brief and distribute it to the fleet. Will that be a problem _Lieutenant_?" His words were ice.

"No Sir!"

"Good." Tarkin turned to face the view port. "Include an image of a former Jedi named Ahsoka Tano with the brief as well. Information on either of them is now considered Priority One."

'''''''

Klaxons were blaring in the Remnant's cabin and everywhere Ahsoka looked red lights flashed, some that she'd never known even existed. The jump had been a rough one from the instant she'd thrown the lever. The ship had vibrated violently and she'd thought they would break apart right then and there, but the moment had passed and the familiar light of hyperspace appeared. She had no idea of their course and R4 was frantically beeping something similar behind her. Barely ten seconds had passed before she jammed back the control lever and they came careening out of hyperspace. Scorching light immediately replaced the gentle light-stream of hyperspace and only the automated viewport filters saved her from being blinded.

Every window on the bridge of the Remnant was filled with the endless eruptions of a red supergiant star. The ship was well inside the intense pull of the its gravity and Ahsoka's first instinct was to immediately pull up and use the main thrusters to get them away. As she began to do so she remembered in horror that the aft shielding was gone and was forced to level off, engaging the reverse thrusters instead. She checked the sensor readout and noted that though their descent had slowed it had not stopped. So many warnings were flashing on the various screens around her she didn't know where to start.

"R4," she called out, "can you get us any more power to the reverse thrusters?"

The Remnant was beginning to vibrate again as the engines fought hard against the inexorable pull. R4 rerouted all available power to the reverse thrusters, but it still wasn't enough to stop their descent let alone break them free.

'_Options,_' she thought, '_what are my options?'_

Looking at the sensor readout once more she saw that the main engines had enough forward thrusting power for them to reach escape velocity, but probably only for another few minutes. The closer they got to the star the greater the gravitational pull was getting. Already their slowed rate of descent was increasing again. In desperation she thought of the single escape pod, but realized if the ship's reverse thrusters were not powerful enough, the pod's even more limited ones would have no chance at all.

She checked the shielding status screen and saw that the forward shields were already below fifty percent from the intense strain of the radiant solar energy. She thought of the hyperdrive once more, but there wasn't enough time to get the engines reset let alone think of the consequences of jumping so close to a super massive star.

"R4, can the aft shields be fixed?" her eyes never left the roiling mass of fire beneath them. It was beautiful in a strange way, the awesome scope of its power. Spinning his circular droid interface R4 chirped his affirmative response that the shields could be fixed, but that it would require both of them to do so. Hope surged in her. "What do I need to do?"

In a moment they were both headed to separate sections of the ship, R4 to the rear power grid control and Ahsoka to the shield emitter matrix in the engine room. The energy shielding system was designed so that all of the emitters were tied into both the primary and secondary power grids. This kept the shielding in place if anything happened to disrupt the power supply, such as canon fire, but also meant that no one shield could be separately activated or deactivated without doing the same to all the others.

Under normal conditions, to repair the energy shielding all of the emitters would need to be taken offline and allowed to recharge. The downside in their current situation was that deactivating the shielding for even a moment would expose them to the harsh temperatures and radiation being flung at them by the star. R4's work around was to separate the primary and secondary connections at the rear power grid and place the aft shields alone on the secondary matrix, thus allowing it to power down separately and recharge. Ahsoka would need to override the shield emitters within five seconds of R4 disconnecting the primary power grid on the rear shielding or the whole system would shift over to the secondary keeping the shields tied together. They wouldn't have long to charge the aft shields, but they didn't need them at full strength, just in place long enough for them to get clear of the star.

Ahsoka slid to a stop in front of the panel that covered the shield emitter matrix and, grabbing the handles, lifted it off and set it on the floor.

"I'm in position." She said pressing her wrist communicator.

They had set the ship's auto-pilot to keep them at maximum reverse thruster directly away from the star's center of mass, but time was fast running out. Looking at the panel in front of her she saw a series of six sets of lights arrayed on the matrix, one red, one green and one blue, a set for each of the ships energy shielding emitters. A green light indicated the shields were on and functioning while red meant there was a failure in the system. The blue light was the charging and standby indicator. All of them were green except for one, the aft one, for which the red indicator light was illuminated.

Ahsoka identified the junction wire she would need to disconnect in order to isolate the aft shields and carefully grasped it in one hand, the other hand placed against the bulkhead for support.

'_Hurry up R4,'_ she thought as the deck shuddered violently beneath her.

Her wrist communicator came to life and she heard R4 give the signal. Immediately she pulled on the wires and the harness came loose. The red light winked out and she stared intently at the blue light waiting for it to light up, but it stubbornly remained dark. Another moment passed and still nothing happened.

"There are no lights on for the aft shields!" she called into her comm. The line was silent. "R4, do you copy?"

Finally the comm crackled to life and R4 chirped that he was going to attempt an additional work around. She stared at the blue light for the aft shield, willing it to illuminate but it refused to change. The seconds were fast ticking away and she had begun to give up hope when, with a flicker, the blue light suddenly came on.

"That did it R4!" she called out, "_You_ did it!" She spun away from the panel and sprinted for the bridge. "I'm getting us out of here!" she called into her wrist comm as she ran.

She slammed into her favorite seat and checked the charge level of the aft shielding. It read only one percent and that wouldn't be enough. She punched the trajectory information into her navigation computer and calculated they would need at bare minimum four percent to clear the star's photosphere. The ship's descent was increasing precipitously and soon they would pass the point of no return where even the main thrusters would no longer be enough to get them clear.

Time seemed to simultaneously stretch into eternity and shrink down to an instant as she watched the aft shield charge creep incrementally up. Her hand was poised on the switch to reengage the shield emitter but the readout simply refused to climb to four percent. They were less than twenty seconds from passing beyond the point where the engines could claw them out when the charge display finally rolled to four.

Ahsoka slammed the reset switch and the aft shielding came online. She pulled hard on the steering control and the Remnant laboriously heeled away from the star. The vibrations intensified dramatically, and the ship groaned under the gravitational stress. It seemed to take forever for the Remnant's nose to swing from the star and she engaged the main engines long before they were angled completely away, but eventually the star loomed behind them.

A huge metallic groan issued from the deck beneath Ahsoka as the heavy gravity continued to take its toll, yet the ship held together. She glanced down at the shield status display and saw that the aft shielding had already dropped back to two percent.

'_Come on girl,'_ she said, her knuckles white as she held the controls in a death grip. '_Don't fail me now._'

They were finally gaining some distance from the star now and the vibrations were diminishing. The aft shielding was down to one percent when at last they broke completely free and zoomed out of range leaving the massive star behind them.

"We did it R4!" she yelled, relief washing over her.

She moved them to a completely neutral orbit well out of danger and cut the shields, allowing them to recharge. The seat creaked as she leaned back to stretch and release all her pent up tension. The quiet was strangely eerie, almost surreal.

A few moments had passed before she realized R4 hadn't returned to the bridge yet.

"R4," she called into her wrist comm, "can you come up to the bridge?" There was no response from the comm system.

"R4, do you need assistance?" she called once more, panic creeping into her voice. Silence greeted her once more.

She bolted out of her seat and hurried toward the rear of the Remnant. Part of her was hoping to find R4 in the cargo bay in his quick charging station she'd had installed not long after she had purchased him, but the docking port was empty. Continuing back to the aft control center she found the power grid panel still open, but R4 was nowhere to be seen.

A series of blinking lights caught her attention and it took her a moment to register their meaning. If she understood what she saw correctly the secondary power grid for the aft shield had failed due to damage in the wiring. She was confused as that meant that the aft shields wouldn't have been able to recharge due to a break in the power supply system.

'_How did the shields work if there was a break in the power grid_?' she thought staring blankly at the flashing lights. '_Somehow the current bypassed the damage, but how?_'

"Oh no…" she said aloud realizing what must have happened. "No, no, no."

She walked with leaden steps over to the aft astromech access port and looked through the tiny circular viewing window, all her suspicions confirmed. Just outside the access port was R4. When he had realized that damage from their firefight with the Imperial fighters had created a breach in the secondary power grid, he must have known that their plan would not work unless a bypass was created. But a bypass through the primary systems would have put them right back where they started.

Instead, the plucky little droid had gone through the access port and manually bridged the gap using his body. The sheer amount of voltage had melted a large portion of his housing to the ship's hull. She could only imagine what it had done to his circuitry. Ahsoka leaned her head forward and let it rest on the view window, suddenly feeling horribly alone. She turned and slid into a sitting position, her back against the access port door. The little astromech had sacrificed himself for her.

She didn't know how long she stayed there pondering how much R4 had ingrained himself into her life, but eventually she arose and walked slowly to the bridge once more. R4's circular interface caught her eye immediately and the sense of loneliness returned once more.

'_Pull it together Ahsoka._' She thought, '_you aren't safe yet.'_

Sitting back down in her pilot's chair she activated the long range scanners and let the computer begin calculating her position. Before long the console lit up and displayed her position.

"Three weeks…" she mumbled.

Silently she set a course for the closest hyperspace corridor and placed the controls on autopilot.

**EPILOGUE**

A dim conical light swung in a low and slow arc above the rough wooden table. It was the only source of light in the room and that was probably fortunate for everyone there. In the center of the table lay a sizable pile of mixed currency, its shadow lazily circling as if trying to escape the swinging light.

"You're bluffing, Traxx." Said a one-eyed Toydarian as he danced a coin across his knuckles.

"If I'm bluffing then why don't you call," came the rough reply from a particularly shady Dug opposite him, a sneer pasted on his face.

"Bah!" the Toydarian replied finally slapping his cards face down on the table. "I'm out."

"Looks like it's just down to you and me then sweetheart." The Dug chuckled as he shuffled his cards mindlessly.

Ahsoka looked up from her own cards and stared straight into the shady character's eyes. He held her gaze but began to shift nervously.

"Make up your mind already! We haven't got all night." He blurted out finally.

"All in." she replied sliding the last of her gold into the pile. Traxx's eyes narrowed for a moment before a wide smile filled his face.

"Ha!" he shouted and pushed his own remaining stack into the pile. "A bold but foolish move." He slapped his octagonal cards down with their faces up. "Full Circles!" he roared laughing. He leaned across the table to start dragging the pile toward him when Ahsoka slapped her cards down. The Dug froze in disbelief as the Toydarian erupted in his own gale of laughter.

"Four Princes." She said flatly. "That beats full circles doesn't it?" she asked in a sweet sarcastic voice.

Traxx pushed himself back from the table. "Impossible!" he stood slowly, reaching for his blaster.

Before he could even get it half out of its holster he found himself staring ominously down the barrels of twin blaster pistols aimed at his head. Ahsoka smiled sweetly from behind them.

"I won't forget this!" he said, slamming his pistol back into its holster.

With a final angry hiss, he strode from the room.

"Ah, my dear that was something to see." The Toydarian said ruffling his short wings. He was a distant cousin of Daggo's named Frell and had taken control of the family holdings in the void that Daggo had left behind.

"I like you." he continued.

She was gathering up the coins into her backpack when he said. "I think I have just the job for you."


End file.
